Frontier Lineage
by Thomas A. Hawk
Summary: In the world of Monster Hunter, there are the monsters, there are the hunters, and then there's everybody else. Damien would like to put himself into that third category, but much to his chagrin, he's in the second. Not everybody wants to tangle with behemoths like that every day; not that you'd know from looking at him. Damien has his own agenda, but will he see it fulfilled?
1. Chapter 1

**Frontier Lineage**

**By Thomas A. Hawk**

**All characters appearing in this work belong to me, myself, and I, unless otherwise stated. Credit for the initial idea of this work goes to Kerashana. Monster Hunter belongs entirely to Capcom.**

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><p>Chapter 1-A Reluctant Hunter<p>

Okay, let me just start this off easy… My name's Damien. Damien Ulrick. What friends I have call me Dane, which is admittedly not many people. I have blue eyes and medium-long black hair. I'm twenty years old, about six-foot-one, and last I checked, I weighed one hundred and seventy-four pounds.

Now, I'm sure that whoever's reading this is probably wondering, "Why the hell is this Damien guy writing a description about himself?" Well, the answer to that is because I'm frickin' bored. Want to hear my story? Well, I'll be using this journal here to tell it. Not that anyone will actually read this, considering that once I'm done in this country I'm pitching this thing into the nearest available fire pit.

So, why am I writing in this if I'm going to destroy it in the end? Again, my answer remains; I'm frickin' bored. And I'm guessing you're now wondering why I seem to be in such a sour state of mind. Truth is, I'm almost always like this. Can't a guy have a personality? Jeez, some people…

I guess this is the part where I write down what my current situation is then. Well, right now I'm on the bottom deck of a trade ship heading towards the town of Newake. Some new settlement, recently founded on the eastern frontier, about five hundred miles from the Great Desert. I don't care, I'll only be there a couple days, a week at most. See, unlike many people who breath air, I have a goal. And no, not a dream, a goal; there's a distinct difference between the two. My goal is to get the hell out of this country. Why, you may ask? So I don't have to deal with my grandfather anymore.

Of course, you should know that my grandfather has been dead and buried for almost half a year now. But, like any other overbearing grandparent, he decided to make me follow in his footsteps and become a hunter. For reference, I'll copy down the letter he wrote for me to read after he passed.

"Damien,

Dearest grandchild, I understand that you will soon be off into the world on your own, and that you may not have a direction to go in once you are. So, as my final gift to you, I pass on my dream to you. I have sent my old Yukumo traveler's armor and an Iron Katana to you to begin your career as a hunter. I've taught you everything I can about the use of long swords, so I trust you will be able to put it to good use. And I understand that you have a great interest in scholasticism; I put in a recommendation at the Guild for you in case you wish to apply yourself there. In any case, these are my last gifts to you. I only ask that you use them well. May we meet in the next life on the great hunt,

Grandpa Ulrick"

Yeah, gramps? Thanks, but I'm not interested. Did you ever even ask me what _I _wanted? Sure, hunters are great. They risk their lives for the rest of us, they do the dirty jobs for others, they help our communities thrive. I have respect for 'em, but that doesn't mean I want to be one.

'But why is that? Hunters are the greatest people in the world!'

News flash, hunting isn't the only goddamn job in existence, y'know. And that whole 'Guild recommendation' thing? Yeah, that's the reason I'm on this damn ship.

Which is why I'm trying to leave the country. I hear there's a place across the eastern ocean where monsters don't exist, and instead business and mercantilism are the founding of a great nation, not slaughtering giant creatures that threaten to kill us every hour of the day. I guess the hunting gear gramps sent me will work out pretty well for my journey; hunters get free passage on most trade vessels. Since I technically am a hunter, the Guild decided to assign me to this village on the frontier. Little do they know, first chance I get, I'm gonna book it and get out of here.

And yes, I do realize I probably sound like an asshole by saying that. Do I care? No. See, it's not that I don't like people, but I absolutely loath the fact that my entire life I've had to live being told what to do. Well, guess what? I'm doing my own thing now. And I won't let a single fuckin' person stop me.

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><p>"God. Freaking. Dammit. How much farther is this damn village?!"<p>

"It's only about another hour or so, hunter. No need to get so worked up about this," a nearby sailor answered, joining Damien on the portside railing. "You look like a tough customer. I'm sure this will be a good jig for ya, aye?"

"Yeah, sure. I'm getting sent out into the middle of nowhere to some small town that isn't even on the map, and for what? Abso-fuckin-lutely nothing!"

"Seems you've got a bad case of homesickness, aye lad? Don't worry, it'll pass. And hey, no need to yell. I can hear ya just fine."

"Fine, whatever, just leave me alone, alright?"

"One of those loner-types, huh? Yeah, you'll be a perfect pick for this village…" the sailor chuckled to himself before returning to his work. Damien sighed to himself and rubbed his temples in irritation, not at all pleased with his current situation.

"Frickin' Guild and their goddamn rules… Why the hell would they set up a village all the way out in the boondocks and decide to send me to it?" he mumbled to himself, pulling his wide-brimmed hat down to shield his eyes better. "Somehow, I think this is Gramps' fault… Goddamn fossil doesn't know when to leave me alone, even when he's dead and buried…"

"Starboard side, captain! I think I spotted somethin' over there!"

"I saw it too! Looked like a Lagiacrus, it did!" another crew member called. "Captain, what do we do?!"

Damien glanced up and off in the direction the man had called, irately scanning the ocean surface for any signs of the creature. A few brownish-red spikes protruding from a deep blue-scaled back broke the surface of the water for a moment, but just as quickly disappeared below the waves.

"Hunter, if it gets close to the ship, do you believe you could fight it off?!" the captain shouted at the traveling hunter.

"No, but I probably have to anyways," Damien mumbled to himself, sighing and grasping the handle of his long sword. Despite it being just the basic iteration of the long sword tree, it had a surprisingly sharp edge, and was tempered far beyond the normal means, no doubt because of his Grandfather's insistence on leaving a reliable hunting tool for him to use. Of course, if anything, Damien was hoping he wouldn't have to draw the blade anytime soon. _Just stay the fuck away from the ship… I don't feel like dealing with setbacks!_

Fortunately it seemed that his wish was granted, as the last any of the others on the ship saw of it was the leviathan swimming away from their ship. Some cheered and applauded Damien, as if he had atually done something to drive it away.

"I tell ya, he's got that 'huntin' sense'! He's a natural!"

"He can even make a beastie as strong as a Lagi turn tail and run!"

"I don't know how you did it, hunter, but we're in your debt," the captain said, bowing a bit to the blue-eyed hunter.

_You people are frickin' idiots… It was luck, not 'hunting sense'! Dumbasses… _

"Well, get this ship to dock within the hour and all debts will be paid. Deal?"

"Of course, right away!"

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><p>And so the journey came to its thrilling conclusion with the ship (its name really escapes me) coming to dock at the village of Newake. I will admit, it is a rather nice little settlement. Right by the beach, lots of grass, moderate sized timber buildings… Fort-like walls surrounding the entire perimeter, that kinda stuff you'd expect of a beach town. Maybe I'll work on my tan while I'm here, make a good impression when I arrive in Kual.<p>

But, before I get too far ahead of myself here, I think I should explain that whole 'hunting sense' thing. A while back, a bunch of wackjobs decided to attribute their dumb luck to some sort of spiritual essence within themselves. Seeing as to how people will believe just about any crap that they hear nowadays, regular people began to eat up this rumor like hot cakes, and soon enough even veteran hunters were swearing by this so called 'sixth sense'.

It might help to have a proper description of what the sense actually does though, huh? Based on the sterling genius that was put into this idea, there are three parts: focus, aura, and armor. Focus is what they use to describe getting a lucky hit somewhere a monster's scales should protect, but for whatever reason didn't at the time; a chink in the armor, if you will. Aura is like bug spray for monsters; if you have a big enough aura, you can repel creatures from your vicinity through sheer power of will. Yeah, complete bullshit, I know. And lastly is armor, which is basically what they say when you get clubbed hard enough to break every bone in your body, yet you somehow manage to survive.

But enough about that crap. Back to my thrilling adventures. The village head was quick enough to welcome me, as were the rest of the townsfolk. Truth be told, they're even bigger idiots than the crew from that ship. Honestly, a guy in traveling robes carrying a long sword shows up, and it's like a god literally came from the heavens to speak with these lunatics. This is what I don't get; why the hell are hunters worshipped like deities if they drop dead by the dozen every day? I don't think gods are supposed to die; at least, not any important ones. Right? Yeah, I thought so.

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><p>"Ah, welcome, welcome! You must be the hunter assigned to our village, no? Welcome to Newake, my friend!" the Village Leader said, laughing heartedly. He, along with several other villagers of the settlement, had set up a small welcoming party for Damien, something that made him cringe the second his eyes landed on it.<p>

"Yeah… I guess this is what being welcomed is supposed to feel like," the hunter noted somewhat dryly. The others took it as a joke though, laughing as if he had told the pun of the century.

"Ah, a lad after my own heart! I can tell we'll get along just fine, hunter! Might I ask for your name? The Guild told us they were sending someone, but not-"

"I'm Damien," he said quickly, cutting off the leader's sentence. The man looked at him in a stunned silence for a moment before bursting out into laughter.

"Ah, not only a hunter and a comedian, but a man who likes to get straight to the point as well!"

_Comedian? Are you fucking kidding me? _ "Okay, well, good to meet everyone, but it was a long trip, and I'd like to get some rest without feeling like I'm going to vomit. Where do I stay?"

"The hunters lodging, in the southeast corner of the village; come, we'll show you the way. Jakar, Liko, grab his boxes!" Two heavyset men stepped from the crowd, easily hoisting one of Damien's supply boxes each and carrying them towards the lodging. The others followed as well; it was a very small community, only about twenty people total, so it seemed more like the entire town was staring at the back of Damien's neck.

"See here, the Guild decided to start exploring the eastern borderlands to map out more of the world and open up new hunting grounds," the village leader explained. "This is the first settlement there is, meaning this is history in the making!"

"I'm so sure," Damien replied uninterestedly. The elder just laughed again in response, as did the other townspeople. _Dear god, I'm surrounded by idiots…_

"You definitely seem tired, my boy! Don't worry, no other hunters have arrived, so you have the building all to yourself! Rest well, my friend!"

"Yeah. Good bye."

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><p>As soon as I entered the building, I dragged all my things to the farthest room from the door possible and set up my 'home base'. I really don't want to deal with these people, but if I'm going to get out of the country, I'm going to need their help. Well, I could always just kill myself, but that has several rather unfortunate implications as well, so I'm going to abstain from that for the time being.<p>

Lodgings aren't bad. Each room has a bathroom and a bed, along with a couple candles for light. First pick definitely has some benefits, though; I chose a room that only has one share wall with another, meaning that if I get lucky, I'll be able to sleep at night. Actually, check that; if I'm lucky, I'll be out of here before any other hunters even show up. Granted, my luck is about as shitty as an Aptonoth's pen, but maybe things will look up for me. Maybe. Knock on wood.

Well, for day one, there definitely has been a lot going on, so I guess this ends today's passage. I'm really bad at this sort of thing… Okay, well, until next time… or page… whatever. Don't judge me.

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><p><strong>Author Notes: Please review! My my, Damien is certainly rather coarse in his language, no? I've generally kept the F-bombs to a minimum for The Master Corps, and I used it a few times in The Hunter's Oath, but I'm pretty sure this is a record for the number of times I've used it in one chapter. Granted, he might be the only one to ever swear this harshly, but that's his character. <strong>**The idea of mixing events in with journal entries is actually something of an experiment of mine. I had debated writing it entirely from a first person perspective, but I realized that wasn't really what I wanted for Damien, given how strongly worded he is. It also frees up space for the passage of time, and helps show his true thoughts more accurately. It really helps with how brutally honest he is, though he does love his dry quips a lot, doesn't he? Ah, the freedom of humor... **

**As I'm sure you also noticed (if you have read my previous works or my in-progress one), this is a much shorter chapter than what I've been putting out. TMC had an average of 10,000 words per chapter, while Frontier Lineage will be more along the lines of a 2,500 word average. A much shorter story, yes, but that was the original idea. I got a pm from user Kerashana around the time I was finishing up THO that recommended a premise I could use for a story, and after some thoughtful consideration I worked it into something I could find enjoyable to write, concise in content, and fun for all! ...Or most, but hey, I can't please everyone, right? So, my thanks to Kerashana for the idea!**

**I gotta say, my writing has slowed down considerably though, which I suppose isn't a good thing, but isn't necessarily bad either. For one, I've had a lot of time to play Super Smash Bros. 4, as well as complete whatever assignments my professors decide to torment me with next. That being said, the short length of these chapters is more manageable for me, and don't require intensive editing either, so dashboardgecko gets a break as well. **

**As one final note, this story takes place in the same 'world' as The Hunter's Oath Trilogy, but is meant to be ambiguous in regards to when it's placed on the timeline. It could be before Remembrance, or it could be after The Master Corps; characters might be mentioned, but no specific plot points will be spoiled in this story. So fear not, my faithful readers; this is another tale entirely! ...Which also brings up another point that almost slipped my mind! Previous works have had a focus on the 'Rule of Cool' in order for things to work out, but seeing as to how this is a more comedic story, you can expect to see more Rule of Funny instead. That being said, there will still be cool fight scenes! I could never write a story without some of those, after all!**

**Playing: SSB4, MH3U, Fire Emblem: Awakening**

**Reading: The Lost Civilization: DLC by dashboardgecko**

**Watching: Achievement Hunter, The Walking Dead, RWBY Volume 2**

**Listening to: Avenged Sevenfold, Rise Against**


	2. Chapter 2

**Frontier Lineage**

**By Thomas A. Hawk**

**All characters appearing in this work belong to me, myself, and I, unless otherwise stated. Credit for the initial idea of this work goes to Kerashana. Monster Hunter belongs entirely to Capcom.**

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><p>Chapter 2- A Furry Friend<p>

Okay, it's been a week already, and I'm not going to lie, suicide has crossed my mind on at least eight different occasions. These people don't know when to leave me alone! Literally the morning after I arrived, a kid broke into my room to ask me questions about why I became a hunter. Damn brat wouldn't bugger off until I told him a very long, complex stream of lies that may end up getting me into a pretty awful situation later on if he decides to share this with everyone. Given what this town is like, I really wouldn't be surprised.

Another setback is that the ship I was intending to leave on got completely demolished before it could even make port. Seems that Lagiacrus from last week decided that ship was a better target than mine. Who knows why it did, but all I know is that I'm stuck here for who knows how long.

Oh, and now I have a roommate. Whoopdi-fuckin'-do.

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><p>Damien sighed as he reached the top of the grassy hill, surveying the area before him. A few Aptonoth grazed in the field below, and there were many flowers blooming in various patches throughout the grasslands. The larger snow-capped mountains lie far off to his left, north of Newake. The ocean was located not far from his position, only about a ten minute walk from the field.<p>

_That ship outta be here today… I've had it to here with these people already! It's like they have no sense of privacy, or personal space for that matter! And that's not even mentioning the hunts…_

Over the last week, Damien had found that the townsfolk were being harassed by both a pack of Jaggis and their leader, and an Arzuros that had apparently tried taking up residency inside the village's honey farm. Both times, they had called on the hunter to deal with the threats, which, while he understood were parts of his 'job', he really didn't want to bother with. The Great Jaggi had been almost a single stroke battle for him. The Arzuros, meanwhile, had required a fair bit more effort to take down on account of its thick bracers blocking his sword swings, but nonetheless the hunter found himself skinning pelts off the creature in a matter of twenty minutes. Despite how much he loathed to do so, he had to admit that his grandfather really had taught him well, despite his... harsh methods.

While he could have made an entirely different set of armor using either of the materials from his fights, Damien had insisted on just combining the pelts and claws with his Yukumo armor and Iron Gospel to avoid having needless clutter about his room. This resulted in his patterned sash being combined with the thicker azure fur of the Arzuros, and the edge of his sword being bolstered by the sharp claws of the Jaggi. Most hunters would have questioned this particular action, but Damien didn't feel like playing by their rules. Now, he was out surveying the land for any more wildlife that wanted to attack the village, though it seemed that nothing was going to bother them any time soon.

_They're only temporary modifications, after all... Not like I'll need them to last long. _

Off in the distance, he spotted white sails on the horizon, and his spirits rose. It was the ship! It had to be! For once, things finally seemed to be taking a turn for the better! He jogged over to the shore, watching the ship with a fervent expression; this was his ticket out of the country. It was a trade ship, that much he could tell, and its size seemed to indicate it was meant for longer journeys. The blue-eyed hunter came to a stop of the beach, huffing lightly as he watched the ship near the island. It was about a hundred yards out from the beachfront, though it was definitely heading for the village. But as he continued watching the vessel, Damien realized something odd about the water beneath it. It looked like it was… brighter than it should have been, like something was glowing beneath the waves.

_Wait a minute… That glow is-! Aw hell, you've gotta be kidding me!_

The hunter could only watch in abject silence as a large bolt of lightning struck the ship from beneath, splintering the ship straight through the middle. More bolts followed a moment later, and in almost no time the vessel was sinking beneath the waves, a Lagiacrus attack having claimed the ship in a span of a few seconds.

"…My luck is absolutely terrible…" he sighed, rubbing his temples. As the black haired hunter glanced up, he noticed the glowing form of the Lagiacrus swim away from the scene of the attack, disappearing out into the ocean. For a minute, he debated whether he should go look for survivors or just head back to Newake, but he decided that he might as well try and save someone if they had lived.

_Not like I need the guilt of not at least trying hang over my head or something... My repertoire is full enough as is. _

With a short sigh he jumped into the water and began swimming out to the wreckage. It took him a few minutes to make the swim, but as he neared he noticed that there were no bodies in the water.

"Bah, I forgot… Ships act like a vacuum and suck things down with them… Anyone who didn't get blasted by the lightning probably drowned. Well, this was certainly a morbid waste of time and effort…"

"Ah! Help, nya! I can't swim! I don't wanna die out here!"

Damien blinked in surprise before turning around, seeing a bucket floating a couple feet away. Inside, a light brown Felyne with large yellow eyes sat quivering, shaking the improvised raft he sat in enough that it was violently rocking from side to side. The furry creature was almost hysterical, blubbering when only a few drops of water touched it. "You! Hunter purrson! Help me, nya!"

"What the hell…? What was a Felyne comrade doing on this ship?" he asked, noting the hunting gear the cat-like creature wore.

"Now's not the time to question my choice in purrfession! I'm about to drown, nya!"

"Alright, alright, just gimme a sec… I'll find a board or something for you to float on…"

"No time, furget about it! There's no time! If I die, tell my mom I always loved her!"

Without any warning, the Felyne suddenly leapt out of its improvised boat, yowling the entire time it was airborne, before landing on the hunter's wide-brimmed hat, clutching onto the small raised section in the center to keep from sliding off. Damien let out a surprised yelp as the Felyne's weight pressed down on his head and neck, though he managed to keep his head above the surface of the water.

"What the hell?! Get off of my head, you little furry fuck!"

"Meow can do! I wasn't designed for this kind of stress, nya! Baths are one thing, but this is a whole different level of terror!"

"If you don't want to see a different level of terror, you'll _get the hell off my head!"_

"You wouldn't purrposely drown me, would you? Nya, he has a heart of darkness!"

"You little-!"

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><p>So, long story short, I had to cart the little bastard back to shore on my head. Don't ask why I did it, because that would take entirely too long to write down. Let's just say I have a soft spot for cats and leave it at that.<p>

Moving right along, after "saving" the little furball, he told me the whole story on the way back to Newake. Apparently, there was a hunter on board that he was assigned to, but the guy went down with the ship too. His name was... Dunki Riban I think? Weirdest name I've ever heard, but hey, that's the way the world works.

Now, if that ship _hadn't _eaten it, I'd be on my way out of the country by now. Unfortunately, that didn't quite happen, so here I am, stuck in this god-forsaken village for another… mercy, I don't even know how long. Not only that, but this irritating little Felyne- I think he called himself Spinach, which is the absolute stupidest name I have ever heard- decided that not only would I be his new master, but that he'd stay in my room until he got better accommodations. Need I reiterate that this building has _seven other empty rooms?_

Anyways, the village accepted him with open arms and gave their sincerest condolences to the loss of the ship's crew and the hunter on board, yada yada yada. Long story short, now Natch (much more tolerable than Spinach) is my comrade. Many hunters wouldn't necessarily consider this a bad thing, per se, but now I'm going to have to keep my journal hidden so he doesn't go snooping around. I do not need my plans to get derailed by this ball of fluff. And they say curiosity killed the cat…

So, this first week has been a series of disappointments for me, but hopefully there'll be another ship that comes around before too long that I can shove off on. Since I honestly care about my future, I'm not letting a single mishap get me down (though I suppose I should be a bit more respectful about calling a wrecked ship a "mishap"). For now, I just have to wait and see. And not die, of course. That would be bad for my health.

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><p><strong>Author Notes: Please review! I won't lie, it always made me think how irritated my character would be in MH3U when I walked into my house in Moga Village and found that kid sitting on the floor. Fortunately, Damien is the perfect character to react to that situation! Ha, sarcasm... He's got the driest sense of humor out of my entire cast of characters, though for good reason. Plus, it's fun to write the snarky, serious type surrounded by jovial, optimistic types.<strong>

**The area around Newake is something of a hybrid between most of the areas available in 3U, if you couldn't tell. I also took the Forest and Hills area from the past games for inspiration, but it's to help explain why this area was such a great pick for a frontier village. As for Damien's weapon and armor upgrades, I had thought during the writing process for him that it wouldn't make sense for a character who intends to hunt for only a short time to make a new full set of armor or have everything reworked into something new. So, his upgrades basically allow his armor and weapon to look mostly the same, while also making it more efficient against higher ranked monsters. Though I wouldn't say the process is as effective as the typical method, and unless routinely cared for the upgrades will "wear off". That idea came from the Razor Sword from the Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, which is possibly the coolest looking short sword I have ever seen.**

**As for Natch, his inclusion was cemented by dashboardgecko's use of a Felyne in his "Underground" series, though the idea was floating around my head for a good long while beforehand. I never really used Felyne's in my fics before, on account that I thought their style of speaking would be too complex, but here I found it wasn't actually that difficult. I also found it rather funny that you could name Felynes on the farm some ridiculous names like Spinach or Celery, while the poogie gets awesome names like Omega. And who better to point that out than Damien? As a side note, Natch's former master was named after Dunban and Riki from Xenoblade Chronicles, who I really only know from playing as Shulk so much in SSB4. Giant laser blades ftw. **

**Playing: MH3U, SSB4, Fire Emblem: Awakening**

**Reading : The Lost Civilization: DLC**

**Watching: The Walking Dead, RWBY Volume 2**

**Listening to: Rise Against, OneRepublic, Avenged Sevenfold**


	3. Chapter 3

**Frontier Lineage**

**By Thomas A. Hawk**

**All characters appearing in this work belong to me, myself, and I, unless otherwise stated. Credit for the initial idea of this work goes to Kerashana. Monster Hunter belongs entirely to Capcom.**

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><p>Chapter 3- A Chance Meeting<p>

Alright, whatever I did in a previous life to deserve this, I'd like to apologize for it with great sincerity. And if I _didn't _do anything to deserve this, and it's just Gramps screwing me over from the great beyond, then just kill me now.

"What great catastrophe took place to make you say such things, Dane?"

Well, thanks for asking, Multiple Personality Number Seven! If you must know, my departure has been delayed for the third time, twice now by that damn Lagiacrus. Sank another large ship meant to use Newake as a stop before heading off to my ultimate destination. The third. Freaking. Time.

But, if it's any consolation to me, myself, and I, said Lagiacrus is now just a pile of horn, scales, and hides in my item chest. Finally killed the damn thing, so maybe now it'll stop fucking with my existence. At least, until Gramps decides to start screwing me over once again somehow.

Now, I'm not one for superstition, but this guy is definitely finding creative ways to screw me over from the afterlife. Sending an irritating furball along to invade my personal space? Fool me once. Destroy both of my chances of getting out of the country? Fool me twice. Send along a crazy girl who is obsessed with me and is now taking up residence next door? Fuck my life.

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><p>"Nya, what a wonderful day to be out!" Natch purred, stretching his back before curling back up into a ball.<p>

"Easy for you to say," Damien grumbled, not at all pleased with the furry creature lying on his head. For whatever reason, the Felyne had seen fit to use the hunter's wide-brimmed hat as a platform to rest on whenever they would be walking for a great distance. What Damien classified as 'great', though, was far different from Natch's own definition.

"You aren't still sore about me moving in with you, right?"

"No, not at all! All you've done is invade my personal space, shed hair over everything, pillage my food, steal half of my pillows, and become a ten pound weight pressing down on my neck constantly! What the hell would I be sore about?"

"…Well, you don't have to be so furrocious about it…" the Felyne muttered, not moving from his perch atop the hunter's hat. Damien had tried several times before to throw the cat-like creature off of his head, but no matter what he did, Natch always managed to find a way back up to the top of his head, which aggravated the long sword wielder to no end. "Purrhaps you could use a spa trip, nya?"

"Or you could just bugger off already…" Dane muttered under his breath. The only reason he kept the Felyne around was because he had proven to be surprisingly competent when it came to fighting. Natch's previous owner had equipped him with very high-end Rathalos gear, and he was able to wield his cat-sized Red Wing with notable efficiency. The other day, the Felyne had managed to help him bring down a Royal Ludroth in two-thirds the time he could do so normally, cementing his place as the hunter's companion. This, of course, was something Damien himself would never admit.

"Nya! I think I see something!" the furry creature meowed, standing up and leaning forward to get a better view of whatever he saw. Damien held back another curse as the weight on his head shifted around, and the edge of his hat covered his eyes, keeping him from seeing whatever Natch could. "Meowbe… I think it's a ship, nya!"

"Wait, what?! Finally!" The hunter whipped his head up, throwing the surprised Felyne off his head to get a view of the ship. Natch yowled before crashing into the ground, lying there for a moment in a daze before shaking his head and standing up.

"What was that fur, nya? It's just a ship-"

Damien didn't waste any time in rushing towards the beach a few miles away, a ship visible on the horizon. Natch let out a surprised yelp before chasing after him to avoid being left behind. The going wasn't particularly rough, but the hilly landscape obscured the ocean every now and then. About twenty minutes into his run for the beach, though, the hunter heard a loud splintering sound and the crackle of lightning, followed shortly after by a resounding roar.

_You've gotta be kidding me… If that Lagiacrus screwed another ship over…_

With a muttered curse, Damien picked up the pace, nearing the top of a hill overlooking the beachfront. As he did so, he thought he could hear the repeated _crack _of a bowgun firing.

"Nya? Is there another hunter, purrhaps?" Natch meowed. "One who won't throw me into a bathtub?"

"Shut it, furball!" Damien snapped, cresting the hill above the beach. "You had that coming after you stole my steaks!"

The sounds of battle drew the hunter's attention back to the beach, though, where a hunter wearing spongy Royal Ludroth gunner armor was fighting a Lagiacrus. The hunter was using a light bowgun made from the same beast as the hunter's armor, though he was clearly struggling with the leviathan. Neither the hunter nor the Lagiacrus had noticed the pair on top of the hill yet.

"Nya, we need to help him!" Natch yowled, looking up at him expectantly. "…and by we, I mean us!"

Damien rolled his eyes, and with a slight sigh he started down the hill towards the battle. Within two steps he had broken into a full on sprint down the hill, the rush of wind catching his hat and whipping it off his head; the only thing that kept it from flying off entirely was the white straps around his neck keeping it strung over his back. In one clean motion, he pulled his long sword from its scabbard and leapt into the air, swinging the blade forward as he did. Using the weight of the blade, as well as the speed of his run and the force of his jump, Damien flung himself through the air almost twenty feet, easily closing the distance between himself and the fight.

"Wide open!" he yelled, slashing his blade across the monster's exposed neck as it built up an orb of electricity. The claw-enhanced edge cut into the Lagiacrus' neck, albeit shallowly, but the wound was nothing to scoff at, surprising the leviathan enough to send it reeling back with a pained roar.

Damien landed a few feet in front of the hunter, plunging his sword into the sand to act as a brake. After coming to a complete halt, he pulled the blade free and slashed it through the air to clear the blood and sand off the blade. The beast glared at the newly arrived hunter furiously, hardly sparing a glance at the small Felyne that rushed to his left side, blade at hand.

"Nya, what was that about?!" Natch yowled, huffing in exhaustion. "I've nefur seen a hunter fly before, but you came purrety close!"

"Eh, flying, falling in style, whatever," Damien replied nonchalantly, sizing up the azure leviathan before him. The beast had a number of broken scales and puncture wounds here and there, most likely caused by the bowgunner. He noted that its front right leg was bleeding quite profusely as well; somehow, a chunk of wood had gotten lodged into the bottom of its foot, piercing through the limb completely.

_That should mean it'll move slower, but it'll also be clumsy when turning too… _

"Let's just get this over with," the black-haired man stated, glancing over his shoulder at the other hunter. The Ludroth-garbed hunter seemed to have forgotten he had been locked in battle with a Lagiacrus moments before, and had been staring at him in awe the whole time. "Yo, earth to Sponge Head! You gonna help us or not?"

"Oh, uh, y-yeah, right!" the hunter replied, "his" voice sounding distinctly feminine. Now that he was closer, Damien realized that the hunter was actually a hunt_ress: _her armor was the female design, for one (which he chided himself for not recognizing a little sooner), and she was definitely more shapely around her waist than any guy he had sounded somewhat flustered as well, something that elicited a subtle groan from the blue-eyed hunter as she joined him at his right.

_Oh joy. To think I escaped the last crazy love-struck one a month ago… Thanks, gramps, thanks a bunch._

* * *

><p>At this point I think I should cut in to say that yes, many women find me physically attractive, and no, I'm not saying that because I'm gloating. In fact, I think my looks are something of a curse. I can never actually attract a decent, normal, average girl. All I get are the "crazy stalker with a crush who will murder you if you do anything to break her heart" kind of girls. And yes, there have been attempts on my life before, the most elaborate of which involving a fish, an exceptionally large spatula, 2 barrels filled with gunpowder, and six crates full of rations. So, forgive me if I seem to detest women, but most men I know would have given up entirely if they had the experiences I have.<p>

As for me, I think I'm treading dangerously close to that line.

* * *

><p>"So, boss, what plan of action do you purrpose?"<p>

"Flank its left. See if you can't bloody up that other foot of his. Sponge Head, go for its right. It won't be able to turn as quick on that side. We ruin its mobility, we make it into a sitting duck."

"What about you then?" the huntress asked, nodding in acceptance of her role.

"Well, someone's got to keep its attention, right?" Damien sighed. "Just make sure I don't regret acting as the decoy, got it?"

"Sounds good! Let's do this!" The huntress behind him and moved towards the Lagiacrus' right side, while Natch scurried along towards its left. The beast kept its furious gaze centered on Damien, who took a single step back and leveled his long sword at it.

"Awfully nice of you to sit there while we talked, tough guy," the hunter muttered, returning the leviathan's glare. Most hunters would feel a twinge of fear or apprehension staring into the eyes of a monster like this, yet Damien held no worries. This was just another step for him, another obstacle he'd have to overcome if he wanted to achieve his goal. To him, there was no such thing as fear: fear got you killed. Fear made you act irrationally. Fear wasn't acceptable.

The Lagiacrus responded to the hunter's challenge by charging up another orb of electricity, launching the lightning-blue projectile directly at the man. Dane darted to the side quickly and ran at the beast, the tip of his Iron Gospel ringing lightly as it dragged across the sand at his side. The beast moved to bite at the hunter, but flinched before it could do so as a large explosion burst from its side. The bowgunner had been packing some heat, apparently: a pair of crag shots had flown from the barrel of her weapon, finding their mark in the azure scales of the Lagiacrus' side.

This momentary distraction was all Dane needed to bring his sword up in a rising slash, using the weight of his sword to jump into the air as he cut the creature's neck. He reached the apex of his jump at the same level as the leviathan's face, and he dealt a diagonal slash across its left eye and horns, causing the Lagiacrus to reel back with a pained roar.

The hunter dropped down to the sand below as his companions continued their assault on the beast's sides. Natch had been hacking away at the leviathan's foot, breaking scales and claws with his Felyne-sized sword. As small as Natch was, Damien knew that the Felyne's greatest strength was his nimbleness; he could deal small, yet extremely effective wounds, something the hunter had used to his advantage a number of times. Hindering a creature's mobility only made it easier to hit, and in turn, harder to be hit.

The bowgunner had been keeping up her barrage as well, having switched to pellet rounds in order to hit a wider area of the Lagiacrus' side. Natch was protected by the bulk of the creature's body, so the Felyne wouldn't have to worry about friendly fire. Damien assumed the spread of the shot wasn't enough to be able to hit him if he were to move in, but he made a note to keep an eye on the huntress' position.

The Lagiacrus suddenly tensed up then, lightning crackling across its dorsal spikes. This was one of its signature attacks, where it enveloped itself in a wide current of electricity to strike out at everything around it. The Ludroth-armored huntress was far enough away that the attack probably wouldn't come close to hitting her, and Dane would hardly have to take two steps back to evade it, but Natch…

"Furball! If you don't want to become a well-done cat, you'll get the hell away from there!"

"Nya, you don't need to tell me twice!" the Felyne yowled, leaping off the leviathan's foot and scampering away as quickly as he could. A moment later, the torrent of lightning flashed to life around the Lagiacrus, crackling through the air as the beast bellowed furiously. Natch almost made it outside of the attack's radius, but a stray bolt zapped him in the back and sent him flying through the air in a spiral, though for some reason it took him a few seconds to travel only a couple feet and plant his head into the sand.

"I will never understand why physics don't apply to those furry little bastards…" Damien sighed, seeing the cat-like creature struggling to pull his head out of the sand. "Alright, let's finish this thing off…" The hunter focused his gaze on the Lagiacrus' chest as the electricity began to die down around it. He never really understood (or cared) how he could do so, but he had found that he could see a creature's heart beating through its chest if it was injured enough. By that point, it was only a matter of a single strike…

"Sponge Head, hold your fire!" he said, rushing at the beast as the remainder of the voltage around it disappeared. The bowgunner got his message well enough, ceasing her barrage of pellet shots to prevent him from being struck by any stray rounds. The Lagiacrus quickly reared its head around in an attempt to bite the hunter, but he ducked under the attempt with an almost supernatural reflex at the last possible moment, barely avoiding the beast's gaping maw. He slashed across its neck once to force its head back before turning about and thrusting his blade into the monster's chest. The sharp iron blade sank through flesh and muscle easily, slipping right between the leviathan's ribs and piercing straight into its heart, dealing a mortal blow to the beast.

The hunter pulled his blade free and moved away from the doomed beast, knowing that it would take a little bit for it to bleed out, but that it was still fully capable of trying to savor one final meal. He came to a stop not far from the bowgunner, who kept her weapon trained on the leviathan as it stared angrily at them. The Lagiacrus attempted a few clumsy steps towards them, but with a low whimper-like groan, the leviathan fell, lifeless.

"Took you long enough…" he muttered, slashing his long sword through the air to clear the blood coating the iron blade off before sheathing it on his back.

"Well, that was certainly a thing! Thanks for your help, stranger," the Ludroth-clad huntress stated, slinging her bowgun over her shoulder and walking over to him. "The beast took the ship by surprise, and the crew went down with the ship. A portion of the cargo hold survived, and that's what got me back to shore."

Damien glanced over at a heavily damaged wooden structure at the water's edge, noting the number of boxes within. "So, you were on a trade ship? Where was it bound?"

"After the stop here it was supposed to head out to another country, but I was getting off at a village around here. You wouldn't happen to be from Newake, would you?"

"I _was _assigned there…"

"Oh, great! So that means we're hunting partners!" she said, removing her helm completely. She had long, sandy blond hair and brown eyes, complemented well by soft, yet firm features. She was a little more than half a foot shorter than him as well. "Nice to meet you! My name's Kari!"

_Ugh, too cheery… I suppose she's good looking enough, at least…_

"Name's Damien. Well, I suppose we ought to get some of those boxes and head back to the village…"

"Mmph! Mymph mmph mm!"

"…What was that?" Kari asked, and both hunters glanced downwards to the source of the noise. Damien let out a short sigh as he saw Natch's legs kicking around, his upper body still stuck under the sand. The long sword wielder reached down and grabbed hold of the Felyne's leg, pulling him out with hardly an effort.

"Nya… Thanks, boss…" Natch dazedly meowed, sand falling off his fur and out of his mouth.

"Why the hell couldn't you get out yourself?"

"My arms got stuck beside me, and then a crab pinched my ear, and then I started getting light-headed… It was awful!"

"Aww, poor little guy! You aren't hurt, are you?" the huntress asked, taking the Felyne from his grasp and looking Natch over.

"No, I'm purrfectly alright," the furry creature purred, thoroughly enjoying Kari's gentler touch as she pet his head. "Nya, this is nice…"

"Alright, enough meet and greet, let's get back to the village…" Damien sighed, making his way towards the ruined cargo hold to see if there was anything they could salvage.

* * *

><p>So, that's how I met my new "friend". Of course, the village welcomed her with open arms, gave the whole "sorry everyone on the boat but you died" speech, and let her take up residence in the hunter lodgings. And, you guessed it, she picked the room right next to mine. Again, there's a number of other rooms in here, people!<p>

I suppose the only good things that came out of this day was me not dying, getting a few nice materials from the ship, and having someone else to take monsters down faster, despite her excessive happiness. Seriously, I don't even think it's possible for this woman to frown. I've been forced to put up with her for several hours now while she spewed all sorts of facts about herself at me, like how her dad is a sandship captain, and how she's used a bowgun all her life, and how two plus two equals four… At some point my ears just gave out and I started hearing things. I'd be concerned, but this tends to happen when I get bored.

As for my goal, though… I've been screwed over twice now, sure, but hopefully there'll be another ship in a week or two. And hopefully this one will ACTUALLY MAKE IT TO PORT. Seriously, if the next ship gets struck by a meteor or something, I'll know for certain that there's a being on another plane who's laughing at my misery.

And being, thy name is Gramps.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes: Please review! So, first fight scene of the story! As you could probably guess, there's still a lot of rule of cool floating around here. I based Damien's rising slash off of Shulk's Air Slash, which is one of my favorite moves in SSB4. I still can't decide which character is my favorite in that game, but I must say that slinging Thorons at people as Robin is immensely satisfying. <strong>

**Also, in light of the story being shorter, I'm also keeping the fights a bit short as well. It might seem like the fights are one-sided (kinda like this one), but it's mostly based off the fights in Monster Hunter Orage. Short, epic, and very visually pleasing. **

**Also, new character! Kari is seeming to be very different from Damien, huh? Energetic, excitable, talkative... Yeah, they're quite different from each other. Most of the character in this story will have some exaggerated traits, which I hope will make them more memorable. This was a decision I made while playing Fire Emblem: Awakening. The support conversations pretty much made that game.**

**As for the next chapter, though, I can't guarantee it will be out next weekend. I have drafts and ideas, but I'm not quite sure I have the time. Unfortunately, that means I'm dropping my schedule altogether. Of course, I'll try not to go beyond two weeks, but again, no promises. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you next time!**

**Playing: SSB4, FE:Awakening, Pokémon Alpha Sapphir and Omega Ruby Special Demo Version (Cuz apparently Nintendo thinks I'm special)**

**Reading: The Lost Civilization: DLC**

**Watching: Let's Play by Roosterteeth, Rwby Volume 2, The Walking Dead**

**Listening to: Avenged Sevenfold, Super Smash Bros. 4 playlist**


	4. Chapter 4

**Frontier Lineage**

**By Thomas A. Hawk**

**All characters appearing in this work belong to me, myself, and I, unless otherwise stated. Credit for the initial idea of this work goes to Kerashana. Monster Hunter belongs entirely to Capcom.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 4- The New Girl… No, the other one.<p>

Well, it's official. There is some sick, twisted individual out there whose design seems to be to keep me as miserable as possible, for as long as possible. And yes, in case you're wondering what happened to poor old Dane, I have once again been left stranded in this miserable little hellhole. The only good news to come out of this situation is that an entire crew of a ship didn't have to die to screw me over this time. This was more of an issue regarding the flow of information.

* * *

><p>"Ugh… About time I finally got a chance to relax…" Damien sighed, tossing his wide-brimmed hat onto his bed. The past few days had been nothing but work, work, and more work for him. Be it the threat of a nearby Rathian or a herd of Bullfango knocking on the village gate, he'd had to be there to deal with it. The last incident had actually taken the feather off the top of his hat, though he didn't exactly mourn this loss.<p>

_I always hated that damn feather… _

Fortunately, he was now able to share the work load with Kari since the bowgunner had taken up residence in the village. Her assistance helped speed the requests along, and while her spunky, talkative nature really got under his skin after a while, he found her presence to at least be tolerable. She still had to get used to working with Natch, however; the huntress had failed to notice the Felyne scurrying along the battleground of their last hunt, and had ended up stepping on his tail hard enough to make the cat-like creature faint after an excessively long bout of anguished yowls. She was working on healing his tail now, which finally left Damien some peace and quiet.

"I think I'll take a dip in that hot spring they built down the hall…" he mumbled, throwing off his hunting gear and a towel around his waist before heading towards the spring. It was honestly more of a bath than anything, but 'hot spring' fit the description much better; the entire room had been designed to evoke the image of a Yukumo Village spring, right down to the fancy banners and tall bamboo plants growing everywhere. It definitely looked relaxing, at the very least. There were two springs, actually; a male and a female one. Given that he and Natch were the only male residents of the building, and that Natch despised water more than he did the devil himself, the hunter was glad to know that he'd have some time to himself for a while.

The water was pleasantly warm when he stepped in, almost instantly easing the tension in Damien's legs. He hadn't always been able to visit hot springs when he wanted to, despite them being one of the few pleasures in life he would like to indulge in as often as he could, so he immediately took to the deeper water and seated himself, keeping his shoulders and head above the water.

"Ahh… That's more like it. No intrusion of privacy, no ear-splittingly loud screeches from that cat, just me, myself, and I… This is the life…"

The hunter rested his head on one of the rocks surrounding the pool, intending to make the most out of the opportunity while he had it: even if it killed him, he would make sure he got to relax in peace. He had _earned _this.

After about five minutes, though, he heard the door to the spring open, and he instantly cracked one of his eyes open in surprise, narrowing his focus on the exit of the short passage between the door and the main room. He heard a few light footsteps before the new arrival stepped into view.

"Hi Damien! Mind if I join you?"

"Kari, what the hell are you doing in here?!_" _the hunter shouted as he backed farther into the pool, noticing that the sandy blonde-haired woman was wearing only a towel around her torso and waist. "This is the guy's spring! Yours is next door!"

"Well, yeah, but no one else would be in there, and that'd be really boring, so I decided to come in here instead," she replied simply, stepping into the pool opposite him. "Ooh, this is nice! The temperature is great… Hot springs are awesome, huh? But anyways, you weren't in your room, and your clothes were all thrown around, so I thought you'd be in here."

"…That doesn't mean you should _knowingly walk into the guys' hot spring! _And why didyou go into my room?!_"_

"I just said I was looking for you, didn't I? I was hoping we could continue our discussion from earlier!"

"This is not the place for idle chit chat between us!"

"Really? I think it's the perfect spot! I mean, I can see you completely, you can see me completely…. There's nothing to hide from each other!"

"Do you not have any shame at all?!"

"Pfft, most guys would count their blessings, you know. But that's beside the point," she chuckled, walking over and sitting down a few feet in front of him, making the hunter feel dangerously uncomfortable due to their proximity. " So, tell me…"

"No."

"Oh come on, please?"

"No!"

"Pleeeeeeease?"

"I just said no!"

"Pretty please with a cherry on top?" she pleaded, making as cute a face as possible.

"No means no! Niet, nada, nein, and all the others!"

"…Who's Nada?"

"Wha-? There's not a- Nada isn't a person, it's a word!"

"Oh, cool! What does it mean?"

"No!"

"You definitely know a lot of ways of saying 'no', Damien. Lighten up a little, huh? It's not that big of a deal, after all. I just wanted to know where you got those scars."

"And I told you, I don't feel like telling."

"Come on, I think they're manly! Everybody has scars, even me! Want to see a few of them? I have one on the side of my-"

"No no no, please, no, thank you, but I don't need to see that," Damien stuttered, looking away abashedly upon seeing the huntress move her towel slightly.

"Oh, I'll bet there was some really embarrassing story behind them, and that's why you don't want to tell!" Kari said, a sly smirk crossing her lips. "Let's see… I'll bet a Kelbi gave you that straight one across your right arm! Mishap while carving a horn?"

"No, that's completely wrong. And even if it was right, I wouldn't tell you!"

"Hmm… Okay, then how about that cross-shaped one on your left arm? You got surprised during a hunt with a Great Jaggi and it got you with a tail swipe, didn't you?! Not anything embarrassing, but an early wound caused by inexperience!"

"That is also wrong," Damien stated, debating with himself whether or not to leave the spring to have some privacy or to remain and enjoy the time he had to relax in the soothing water. Both options had a negative to them for certain, but he decided that he may never get a chance to visit a hot spring when out of the country, so he might as well put up with the situation he was in.

"Uuuugh! I'll play this game all night with you if that's what it takes for you to tell me!" the bowgunner said enthusiastically, clearly not intending to give up on the subject. "Let's see… How about that one across your chest? I'm guessing… Weapon accident!"

"Nope."

"Darn… that one on your back must be from a Royal Ludroth!"

"Hey, guess what? You're wrong. Again."

"You are one tough nut to crack, you know that? I'll discover your secrets yet, Ulrick!"

"I really don't understand why you even care," the long sword user sighed, resting his forehead in his left palm. "It literally has nothing to do with you! Do you always walk in on guys in the middle of their baths to ask them about a bunch of scars?!"

"Well, there was this one time…"

"Too much information!"

"I'm just screwing with you!" Kari laughed, splashing a bit of water at him playfully. "I guess it doesn't really have anything to do with me, but I still want to get to know you better! We are hunting partners after all!"

"Yeah, like coworkers at a job," Damien muttered, wiping the droplets of water that had splashed his face away. "We talk business, not personal stuff."

"But the personal stuff is where all the juicy meat is!"

"…You are making this conversation excruciatingly awkward, you know that?"

"That's because you're taking what I say out of context! You know what I'm talking about, after all!"

"Yeah, but what if someone else was listening in? I've noticed at least four things in your speech that could be taken the wrong way, and this isn't helped by the fact that both of us are only wearing towels at the moment!"

"Oh please, who would be listening in on us? Not like we have an audience or anything," the brown-eyed woman said as she rolled her eyes.

"With the amount of times that brat has broken into my room in the past two weeks, I wouldn't be surprised if we did…" he mumbled.

"Alright, I'm going to take another guess at a scar then!" she said, abruptly changing the subject. "That one on your jaw… I'm guessing you got it from a tavern fight! I've seen lots of scars like that caused by broken glass! You just got drunk one night, maybe said some things to the wrong guy, and woke up the next morning with a raging hangover and a bleeding chin!"

"No, and I don't drink, so a drunken brawl would be completely out of the question anyways."

"Oh, you don't drink, you say? Why's that? Hunters love their ale!"

"I prefer to keep a clear mind at all times so I don't do anything stupid. Unfortunately, the world seems to bring all the stupid to me instead…"

"I'll bet you'd be the funniest person if you were drunk! Alright, bucket list for Newake! I need to find out about your scars, and I need to get you drunk at least one time!"

"This sounds like a horrible plan. You know that serial killers do shit like this too, right?"

"So do politicians. Your point?"

"…Okay, it's comments like this that make me wonder if you're putting on an act or if you actually believe that."

"Oh well, I guess we all have our secrets, huh?" Kari replied, sticking her tongue out at him teasingly.

"Yeah, we do, haha," Dane replied wryly.

"Well, just so you know, I don't mind sharing some of mine with you as long as you do the same!"

"Okay. I'll consider it."

"Ah ha! See, was that so bad? I think we're bonding!"

"Does this even qualify as bonding? And I said I would consider it, not that I would-"

"Of course this qualifies! This is quality time spent getting to know each other, after all!"

"I don't think the context of the situation would agree with you."

"Aww, don't be such a grouch! I think someone just needs a hug!"

"Wait, what? What're you-? Kari, wait, stop! Grab your towel before it-!"

"Oh jeez! That was pretty close, huh? Good thing I'm quick on the draw!"

"_Why are you not bothered by any of this?!" _the long sword user roared, his face having reddened somewhat.

"If anything had happened, it would've just been a funny memory! You just gotta look at things the way I do sometimes, y'know?"

"I'm almost afraid of the thought… And would you really consider _that _to be a funny memor- you know what? No, I'm just going to stop myself now because I know what the answer will be."

"See? We are getting to know each other better! C'mere you!"

"Wait, wait, you didn't fix your towel fully! _KARI!"_

* * *

><p>So, yeah, complete lack of privacy around here. Next time I'm jamming the door with a chair to keep anyone else from coming in, because that was <em>completely <em>uncalled for. This isn't even taking into account the fact that I'm having to install a lock on my room and that I have boards covering the windows now to keep people from breaking in that way. I even bought a small lock for this journal, so this should be safe as well. I think that covers all entrances, but if for whatever reason it doesn't… Well, I'll need to take drastic measures.

But I'm certain it would probably make more sense to get to the part where I got stranded here again, huh?

* * *

><p>"Uhm… Excuse me…?"<p>

Both hunters turned and looked over at the entrance to the hot spring, where another woman stood wearing a towel. She had long, dark brown hair that fell past her shoulders, and a pair of cyan blue eyes that seemed to stand out due to her somewhat pale complexion. Her features were soft in the face, but her chest was even more voluptuous than Kari's. She looked extraordinarily shy, though, and her face was beet red as she looked at the pair in the hot spring.

"I'm… I'm not intruding on anything, am I…? I-I can just go…"

"No, not at all!" Kari laughed, waving at the new arrival as she pushed away from the long sword wielder. "Come on in and join us, there's room for more!"

"Context!"

"Oh, fine, sorry, Mr. Grumpy Pants. We were just talking is all. But really, come on in! There's always room for more friends!"

"Why do I even try…" Damien sighed, seeing the black haired woman reluctantly step into the pool and seat herself a short distance from the two.

"So, what's your name?" Kari asked. "I haven't seen you around before, but if you're in here then you must be a hunter, right?"

"Y-yeah… My name's Luna…" the blue-eyed huntress replied sheepishly, making it a point to avoid their gazes. "I just arrived today…"

"Wait, arrived?" Damien asked, looking up suddenly. "What do you mean, arrived? Like, on a ship? A ship that sails on the ocean?"

"What other kind of ship would she get here on? Not like airships make this trip…"

"Shut up, I am listening to my new friend."

"Well… Yeah, I guess… It was a big cargo cruiser bound for some place out of the country. They were in a hurry though, so after I got off and they got all the things for their trip, they left…"

"…_**WHAAAAAT?!"**_

"Eep! D-did I say something wrong? I'm sorry!"

_How did I not hear about this earlier?! Or see it, for that matter! If a ship that big could have docked, unloaded a huntress with all her gear, gotten everything prepared for another journey, and shoved off in the time I've been back from that last hunt… What the fuck?! I didn't even hear a bell or anything signaling its arrival!_

"Calm down, Dane, you're scaring her!" Kari chuckled. "She wasn't even here for ten minutes and you've already shouted at her once! It took a day for me!"

"You broke into my room with Natch and stole half of my well-done steaks! I had good reason to! In fact, I have another reason to be upset; why is it that the gender ratio in the guys' hot spring is one-male to two-females?!"

"Imagine how boring it would be to just be sitting in a warm pool of water without people to talk with!"

"That's called relaxing!"

"Er… e-excuse me…?"

Damien let out a low sigh, letting his head sag forward as he did so. "Yes, you are excused. What is it?"

"I… was just wondering what your names were…?"

"Oh, that's right! We never introduced ourselves, did we? I'm Kari, and this sour grape is Damien!"

"Hey, I can handle my own introduction just fine, thank you very much!"

"O-oh, well, it's very nice to meet both of you…" Luna said, bowing her head forward slightly courteously. "And I'm sorry if I made you upset, Damien…"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he groaned, resting his head on the rock behind him and closing his eyes in an attempt to escape the world.

"Aww, cheer up, tough guy! Just think; you're sitting in a hot spring with two women and nobody else in the building! This is stuff most guys can only dream of!"

"_Why do you keep saying crap like this?!" _

"Because I think it's funny seeing you like this! Right, Luna?"

"I-I don't really feel comfortable responding after that comment…" the black-haired huntress murmured, looking away as her face flushed in embarrassment. "Can I just… sit here and listen instead? I like the background a bit more…"

"I don't think Kari understands the concept of a background," Damien replied dryly. "She has to know everything, else she'll never leave you alone. I speak from experience."

"I don't _have _to know everything, I just like to learn more about the people I'm going to be hunting with!" the blonde-haired woman retorted with a smirk. "So, Luna, what kinda weapon do you use? How long have you been a huntress for?"

"I-I just use a sword and shield, nothing fancy… And maybe a year now…? Time really flies…"

"Oh, perfect! So that means Natch won't have to pick up all the slack for close quarters fighting!"

"What do you mean, 'all the slack'? He just pokes things with that glorified cooking knife of his! I do most of the heavy lifting!"

"Yeah, but you aren't as fluffy and adorable as he is."

"And I'm perfectly okay with that! But speaking of him, weren't you fixing his tail? What happened to the little furry bast- uh, ball of fluff?"

"I'm having the town healer look after him now, since he knows more about those kinds of wounds than me. I'm not really a medic, after all."

"Yeah, that was clear when you wasted an entire roll of bandages trying to cover up a scratch."

"It stopped bleeding, right?"

"I honestly can't tell if you're a genius or really just that daft…"

"Hey, I'll have you know I scored an A minus on the hunting exam written final!"

"I'm guessing the minus came from the medical care section?"

"That's not-! …completely true…"

Luna merely glanced between the pair as they continued to bicker, playfully on Kari's end and stubbornly on Damien's. The hunter noted that she really did fade into the background well, despite the fact that she seemed almost completely noticeable in every way. He'd have to find out how she did that later on; such a skill would prove very useful in escaping situations like this one.

"…and that is why I believe I am one-hundred percent right!" Kari finished. Damien had momentarily forgotten she was even arguing with him, but somehow the topic had seemed to stray so far from what they had begun with that he couldn't even think of a response.

"Alright, congrats, you bored me into complacency," Damien muttered, laying his head back once more. "Can I just relax for a bit now? I feel like I'm even more stressed out now than I was before I walked in here."

"Ooh, want a shoulder rub? I'm really good at those! Or maybe a back massage?"

"No, no shoulder rubs, just… Leave Dane out of the conversation. Look, you have a new friend right there! Talk with her! I will just sit here, and enjoy whatever peace I can find in the deep recesses of my mind. Sound good? I think it does."

"Aww, that's no fun at all! You really sound like you need a shoulder rub! Hey, Luna, gimme a hand with him!"

"U-uhm… Why…?"

"We're gonna give him the greatest massage of his life!"

"Wait, stop, _stop! _Context, _context!"_

* * *

><p>Needless to say, the entire situation was extremely awkward for me. And no, the massage didn't devolve into some risqué scene like in all those weird books. It actually was quite nice, considering Kari almost flunked first-aid in school, but I will <em>never <em>admit that out loud. Luna apparently studied anatomy as well, so she had an even better idea of what she was doing than Kari.

But that's all beside the point. I managed to somehow completely miss the next ship headed out of the country, and now I'm stuck here for another indeterminate amount of time waiting for a ticket to freedom. Except now I have another person I have to deal with… At least Luna seems more normal than Kari. The shy, quiet gig is really agreeable with me.

Anyways, I should probably get to plotting my next course of action here. There's two-dozen steaks next door that belong to me, and I will have them back. Once I get all my things in order, I just need to pay closer attention to the shipping logs for when the next boat is due to arrive, and I'll be all set. Gramps, you haven't beaten me yet, and you're not going to ever again. It's my life, and I'm living how I want.

…Or at least, I will once you stop FUCKING WITH IT.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes: Please review! Wow, this chapter practically wrote itself! Damien and Kari have such conflicting personalities that their dialogue alone made this entire chapter work; hell, this chapter's even longer than the one with a fight scene in it! I'll admit, a few parts did start treading the line of risquéness (if that's even a word), but that's entirely dependent on context. I really found that word to be one of the best parts of this scene, to be honest...<strong>

**Speaking of, I heavily based the idea of a "hot spring episode" on essentially every cliché beach episode and hot spring scene ever. Of course, I also enjoyed toying with those same clichés and adding my own twists into the mix. All in all, this was probably one of the most tongue-in-cheek-humorous pieces I have ever written.**

**As you go along though, I hope you can see that these characters are essentially heavily exaggerated versions of the main cast from The Hunter's Oath. Damien takes York's sarcasm and runs with it for a few miles, Kari has Rose's fun, light-hearted attitude times ten, and Luna basically has Zephyr's ability to disappear from the plot, except only when she wants to. **

**"But wait, what about Hugh? He's got a fun and outlandish personality too!"**

**Trust me, I didn't forget about him. In fact, I think the final character of Damien's hunting group will be the most fun yet... Muhaha.**

**Sorry this took so long to get out there though, school hasn't afforded me much time for leisurely writing. I'm having to devise a schedule to make sure I get some in every day, but I'm sure all of you will be pleased to hear that I am working on The Master Corps chapter 18 as we speak! ...Or read, if you're the literal type. Needless to say, I'm still on the job! Alrlight, that about does it this time, so until next we meet, my faithful readers!**

**Playing: SSB4, FE:Awakening**

**Reading: The Lost Civilization: DLC**

**Watching: Let's Play by Roosterteeth, Rwby Volume 2, Conan**

**Listening to: Avenged Sevenfold, Super Smash Bros. 4 playlist, Rise Against**


	5. Chapter 5

**Frontier Lineage**

**By Thomas A. Hawk**

**All characters appearing in this work belong to me, myself, and I, unless otherwise stated. Credit for the initial idea of this work goes to Kerashana. Monster Hunter belongs entirely to Capcom.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 5- Arrival of the Greatest!<p>

Hoo boy, where do I even start… Today's been a whirlwind of events for me, and almost all of them have nearly killed me in one way or another. I swear, Gramps, you're getting a lot more aggressive with the life-screwing, you know that? Well, by this point, it really doesn't faze me much. I've been cut off from my departure… three times? Four times? Whatever the number, I've realized that it'll be a lot easier on me to just wait it out a bit. Good things come to those who wait and all that.

But the new guy? Wow, isn't he a creative one… I swear, the people I've met here are the most diverse group of nutjobs that I have ever had the misfortune of saying I associate with.

The villagers are all bright and cheery all the time, and they generally say the same two or three phrases to me whenever I see them, which is a real barrier in conversations. Several children also break into the lodging, even though I never see them use the doors, which still confounds me.

Natch is a sly little thief who manages to tread the line between driving me insane and keeping my mind grounded in reality. He's actually a surprisingly good conversationalist when he isn't swiping my steaks out of my item chest.

Kari has even less sense of privacy than those damn kids (she broke my door down last week), and yet she somehow manages to be kind of enjoyable to be around. And I'm not saying that because she insists on barging into the hot spring while I'm in there. That's just an unfortunate side effect of being hunting partners with this one.

Luna is essentially a ghost, to the point that I've had to go out of my way to notice her on a number of occasions. It's not like I don't _want _to, it's more like I just can't. I mean, I don't really want to, but it's required on hunts that I keep track of my allies. And I'm being completely honest here.

And then, there's the newest addition to the lot… I swear, I'm going to have an aneurysm if this keeps up.

* * *

><p>"Alright, now you're just being difficult," the long sword user muttered, eying the green wyvern as it flew around the grassy plain he and the others were located at. Kari was firing on the airborne creature with her bowgun, but was unable to land any decisive shots that could force it to land. Since Damien, Natch, and Luna only had swords to fight with, they couldn't do a thing but watch the creature dodge bowgun fire.<p>

"Hold still already!" Kari shouted, loading a new set of cartridges into her bowgun. A small pile of spent casings had built up beside her from the number of shots she had used, and was quickly growing as a new addition cluttered on top after each shot. "Queen of the Land my ass! Come down here and fight us like a real monster!"

"Does it even understand what we're saying, nya?" Natch meowed, standing beside Damien and Luna as the trio watched the Rathian continue soaring above their heads. "Purrhaps this one was a bad egg?"

The Rathian had steadfastly refused to engage the hunters on the ground, for whatever reason. The start of the fight had gone very well, and they had dealt a good deal of damage to the beast, but now it was merely soaring far above the reach of their weapons, occasionally loosing a roar and launching a fireball at them. It had attempted to ram them once, but after Damien left a large gash on its underbelly it refused to do so again.

What Damien didn't understand was why it didn't just fly off already. It had been circling the area for almost a half hour now, accomplishing little more than setting a small fire on the ground beside the group. Most beasts fled when wounded enough, but this one seemed content with just taunting them.

"Won't it get tired after so long…?" Luna asked, readjusting one of the red ropes tying her Arzuros armor together. "It's been flying around up there for a while now…"

"I'd have packed a picnic basket if I knew this would take so long, nya. Boss, can I sit on your head till it comes down?"

"No."

"Purretty please?"

"Natch, don't even start with that."

"Well, how else are we to pass the time, nya? Beclaws I could really go for a catnap at this rate…"

"No napping! Last thing we need is for you to rejoin the fight with a case of the Mondays!"

"But… isn't today Friday?" Luna said, drawing a short sigh from the long sword user.

"Yes. Yes it is."

"HEADS UP! SHE'S COMIN' DOWN!"

The trio quickly shot their glances skyward, just in time to see the Rathian flying straight towards them. Smoke was billowing from its underbelly, seemingly caused by a small explosion, and the wyvern was trying fruitlessy to flap its wings to regain its lift. It seemed like Luna's comment from earlier was right; it was too tired to keep flying like it had been. The three quickly broke away from where they had been standing to avoid the green mass of scales barreling towards them.

Damien had barely made it out of ground zero before the flying wyvern crashed into the earth, dragging across the ground and tearing a massive trench through the earth, kicking up clumps of grass and dirt everywhere. One particularly large piece of sod struck the hunter in the chest, winding him and knocking him down. The Rathian fared far worse, though; the impact broke several of its bones and possibly crushed some of its organs, killing it immediately upon impact.

"Hell yeah! Now that's what I call a bull's eye!" Kari exclaimed triumphantly, slinging her bowgun around her back and running over to the others. Damien let out a short groan as he pushed himself up, having been caught off guard by the flying debris.

"Feh… Guess that's what they mean by eating dirt… Wait, what did I land on?"

"N… nya…" Natch meowed, weakly pulling himself out from behind the long sword user. "Why must the fluffy ones be tormented, nya…"

"Ah, shut it, fur ball… I'm just lucky I didn't break my spine on that armor of yours…"

"Oh, poor little guy! We're gonna have to get you fixed up after we get back!" the bowgunner stated, picking up the Felyne gently and pulling him into a hug.

"I suddenly feel much better, nya…"

"Don't worry, that fat ol' grumpy Damien won't fall on you again!"

"Hey! Who're you calling fat?! I'm not overweight at all!"

"W-well, you do like to eat a lot of steak…" Luna said meekly.

"Don't you start too!"

"Eep! I'm sorry!"

"Alright you two, we can continue this talk back in the village," Kari laughed, setting Natch on her shoulder. "But first, let's see what we can carve off of this Rathian! It'd be a waste not to get a few materials after all of that trouble!"

"Yeah, nothing more bothersome than watching a dragon fly in circles for half an hour…" Damien muttered, pulling his carving knife out and heading towards the carcass.

"Sounds like someone needs another soak in the hot springs! How about we have another bonding session today?"

"_No. _I'm still recovering from the last time."

"Okay, so I almost paralyzed your arm, I'm sorry. Accidents happen, right?"

"That sounds a bit worse than an accident…"

"Luna, are you siding with him?! What happened to girl power?!"

"S-sorry!"

"Should I even ask?" Damien sighed as he continued to skin the fallen wyvern.

"Nope! It's a secret!"

"Good, so I won't have to worry about-"

"Ah ha! I knew it! You want all the details, don't you?! I'll never tell!"

"…I just said I didn't care!"

"A likely story… Or, it could be some kind of espionage! Were you snooping on our last meeting?!"

"What are you even talking about?! You make no sense!"

"H-hey, guys…?"

"Oh ho! Getting flustered now, huh? Admit it, you really aren't that big of a hardass, are you?!"

"When did this become a discussion about my personality?! We went from hot springs and paralysis to secret clubs and psychological dispositions!"

"Guys…?"

"I just think you're trying to keep up the image of someone who's trying to seem like he doesn't enjoy spending time with his friends! But I just saw you crack a smile a minute ago, so you must be having fun!"

"I carved a ruby off of this thing! That's cause enough for anyone to show some form of joy!"

"Kari? Dane?"

"This is a low rank monster! How would you have carved a ruby off of it?! I demand proof!"

"How should I know?! It was just there, see?! Rathian Ruby, right off the- hey!"

"Mine now, nya!"

"Natch, you furry little-!"

"GUYS, SHUT UP!"

The hunters both glanced at each other before turning their gaze towards Luna. The short sword wielder seemed just as shocked as they were at her sudden outburst; her eyes were wide, and she was covering her mouth with both hands.

"Luna…?" Did you just… shout?" the Ludroth-garbed huntress asked, wide-eyed.

"…Did I…?"

"Err… yeah. What did you want…?" Damien asked, feeling nervous for the first time in his entire stay at Newake.

"O-oh, right… That…" The black-haired woman pointed towards the mountains to the east, and the others followed with their gazes. A large red shape was flying towards them rapidly: at first, it was just a speck, but with each second it grew bigger and bigger.

"Is that…?"

"It couldn't be, nya…"

"…Rathalos?"

"No. _Very angry _Rathalos."

"You think?"

"So, maybe that's what the Rathian was calling for?"

"Yeah… yeah, that'd be a safe assumption."

"Is this the part where we all run away, nya? Because it really looks like it's supposed to be one of those scenes in the script."

"Natch, what're you even talking abou-"

"DUCK!"

The hunters just barely registered Kari's warning before she tackled Dane and Luna down, just in time too: the Rathalos soared through the air they had occupied a moment before, its claws running dangerously close to Damien's cheek. The group hit the dirt with a loud thud, though Kari was on her feet again a second later, bowgun in hand. Luna soon joined her, her sword and shield at the ready. Damien let out another grunt as he pushed himself up, drawing his long sword as he did so.

"Don't suppose there's a "get-out-of-jail-free" card for this, huh?"

"Oh, you read "The Master Corps" too? I love that story! Especially the end where Wes and-"

"Hey, no spoilers, nya!"

"Aww, you're no fun!"

The hunters quickly returned their attention to the flying wyvern before them, flames licking the inside of its mouth as it glared at them hatefully. It had spied the corpse of its mate during its first pass, and it looked none too happy about meeting those responsible. With barely any warning, the beast unleashed a massive fireball aimed directly at the center of the group, forcing them to split up to avoid being struck by the blazing projectile.

"Luna, flank its side and go for the legs!" Damien called, rolling to a stop and pushing himself up. "Kari, go for its wings! We don't need another half hour wait for this one!"

"What about me, boss?" Natch asked, having landed next to the hunter after being thrown from Kari's shoulder.

"Oh, I've got the perfect plan for you…"

"Really? Beclaws I was thinking- NYAYAYA! What are you doing?!" Natch exclaimed, flailing around in the hunter's grasp. Try as he might, though, Damien had a solid grip on the back of his armor, and the Felyne couldn't wriggle free.

"Getting you up onto that thing's back, of course. Just think; you're going to be the first Felyne in recorded history out here to ride a Rathalos."

"B-b-but 4 Ultimate hasn't been released here, nya! That feature isn't available ye-"

"Off you go!"

Damien pulled his arm back as far as he could before throwing the armored Felyne at the Rathalos, leaving Natch yowling in horror as he neared the beast.

"Nyaaaaaa!"

"That's for stealing my ruby, fur ball!" Damien said, pulling his long sword free from the ground and running towards the creature himself. Luna had already neared the flying wyvern's legs, and was hacking away at the left one with her short sword, dealing only a little external damage. If she kept it up, though, she could probably throw it off balance and give them all a moment to strike a vital spot. Kari was pelting the monster's wings with pellet rounds, tearing small holes in the webbing with each shot. Once enough damage was done, the beast's flying capabilities wouldn't be an issue . And, at the very least, Natch could divert the monster's attention to him, though his position on the Rathalos' back was actually somewhat safe for the time being.

It seemed like all of the portions of his plan were coming together so far. Once Luna did a little more damage to its leg, he could dart in and strike the injured appendage, causing it to topple over onto its injured wing. Kari could blast the webbings away with an explosive round, and he, Luna, and Natch could deal some heavy damage to its body, maybe even killing it if they moved quick enough. It helped that Luna was almost able to disappear from the creature's focus, since she was within stomping range almost the entire time; it seemed her shy nature even translated onto the battlefield.

"Dane, I'm almost out of ammo here! Might need you to toss me a few rounds!" Kari shouted, ejecting the empty casings from her spent shots. The long sword user circled around the creature while Kari moved towards him. He reached into his back pouch and grabbed hold of a small bag of ammunition he kept stored for her use, handing it off to her as they passed each other. Not a moment later, a fire ball soared past the spot they had met, bursting into a small explosion as it impacted the grassy plain.

"Thanks!"

"Thank me when we're eating Rathalos Ribs later!"

"Duly noted!"

Luna had been forced to back off to avoid the monster's claws and tail, though as she tried to get under its wings again the Rathalos surprised her by flapping its wings heavily and buffeting her with a gust of wind. She blocked the force of the gale with her shield, but yelped in surprise as a fire ball exploded directly in front of her, sending the black-haired huntress sliding across the grassy plain from the shock wave. Kari had just been reloading her bowgun and only had a split second to notice the Arzuros clad woman heading towards her. Both huntresses let out surprised yelps as they crashed into each other and tumbled down the slope behind them, disappearing from sight.

"Luna, you made me drop all of my ammo!"

"Sorry…"

Damien let out a short sigh before leveling his sword at the creature, knowing it might take a little bit for his teammates to recover. Natch was still attached to the wyvern's back, slashing into the beast with his own short sword while letting out nervous yowls all the while. Irritated at the Felyne's presence, the Rathalos shook itself back and forth, throwing the cat-like creature off with a panicked yowl.

"Well, that plan fell apart quickly," Damien muttered sourly, glancing back as Kari reappeared over the hill, managing to catch the red-armored Felyne with both arms.

"Dane, behind you!" Luna called, instinctively causing the long sword user to pull his attention back around towards the beast. In the split second he had been distracted, the Rathalos had sauntered over to him and reared its head back, intending to bite down on the hunter. As quick as he could, Damien pulled his long sword up defensively, putting his palm against the flat of the blade to brace himself.

There was a screech as tooth grinded against steel, and Damien felt himself getting shoved down into the ground as the Rathalos attempted to close its jaws around him. Somehow his sword managed to get caught between the monster's teeth and force its mouth to stay open, but that didn't do much to hold back the pressure the flying wyvern was exerting on him.

_Dammit, I dropped my guard! Why'd I do that?! It's not like me at all!_

The long sword user grimaced as the beast attempted to bite down on him again, its jaw still held back by his sturdy blade. He wasn't sure how long the metal would hold against this kind of force, but he knew that hunters' weapons were made tough, so he'd still have a little time to think of a way out of this.

"Hold on, we'll be right there!" Kari shouted, pulling her bowgun up and running over to the beast's side. Luna had gone to flank the opposite direction, intending to strike the Rathalos' injured leg.

"_Get this thing off my head!" _he shouted, struggling against the beast as it pressed down again, forcing him down to one knee. The only one who actually tried to strike the Rathalos' head was Natch, who had scurried up the hunter's back and onto the wyvern's face. Unfortunately, his sword had been thrown from his paws earlier, so the most he could do was scratch at the beast's eyes and snout in a futile attempt to force it back. At this point, it looked like there was barely anything Dane could do but hold out against the Rathalos until one of his allies managed to-

"My fellow hunters! Worry not, for I have come to assist you in your endeavors!" a voice called from the left. Damien glanced over at the owner for a moment; there was a man wearing a suit of steel armor, brandishing a metallic lance and a heavy metal shield. Other than that, he couldn't make out any other features, as the sun was positioned directly behind him and obscured his face. "Small warrior of the Felyne race, take flight from your current position! I shall strike down the beast that burdens you all, as is my duty, but you must remove thyself from the dragon's head!"

"Nya, this guy's kinda weird, but whatever!" Natch meowed, jumping free from the crimson-scaled beast's face and darted away in search of his fallen sword.

The newly arrived hunter, meanwhile, held his lance close to his side and began a mad rush at the Rathalos. There was a small flare of red energy as he reached maximum speed, and the man let out a roar as he approached the monster.

"Hear my cry, fell beast! Today is the day reckoning will be dealt upon you! You shall fall by a single strike of my mighty lance, and naught but a miracle of divine nature shall save you! Prepare for a swift demise, destructive dealer of death!"

_What the fuck is this guy on about?! _Damien thought to himself, still forcing the Rathalos' head back again as the eccentric lance wielder drew near.

"_Piercing Lance Strike of the Heavens!"_

The man leapt into the air, using the momentum of his dash to propel himself forward even faster. As soon as he was within striking distance, he thrust his lance forward, drilling straight through the monster's skull and throwing it off to the side, freeing Dane from beneath its jaws. The flying wyvern collapsed to the ground from the force of the strike, letting out a single weak roar as the lance bore further into its head, piercing fully through it and into the ground below.

"Huzza! As I preordained, the beast is slain! Take heart, my companions, for your struggle has ended! The mighty Vince Alsnoe has joined you from here on out!"

The three other hunters stared wordlessly at the newly arrived hunter, his lance still embedded in the creature's skull. He had a squared, powerful jaw, and full head of messy white hair. A long scar crossed over his nose, beginning and ending beneath both of his gray eyes. He had a very proud, lofty expression, like he saw himself as some sort of hero.

"…You may all speak, if you wish! I know my sudden appearance may have startled you, but it would be nice to learn who my newest companions are!"

"…Er… Right…" Kari said with a nervous laugh. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Vince. I'm Kari, this is Luna, the Felyne is Natch, and that big lump of grumpiness over there is Damien."

"Ah, I see! I arrived here by way of a large oceanic vessel within the hour, and upon learning of your quest I deemed it necessary to join you all in the field, and made haste to partake in the hunt."

_Great, another missed opportunity. Knew I should've played sick today… _Damien thought, pushing himself up with a sigh. _Know what, this has happened so frequently that I don't even care anymore. I'll get out of here when I do, but for now, I'm just going to put up with it._

"Thanks for the help there, Vince," the long sword user said, prying his sword free from the monster's jaws. The metal had some small dents in the flat of the blade, and the edge was chipped around where it had grinded against the beast's teeth, but it was otherwise undamaged.

"It was not a problem at all, my dark-haired friend!"

_Good lord, he's one of those people alright…_

"So, shall we be off then? I heard that the lodgings had a superb hot spring in the likeness of those from the village of Yukumo, and I would like very much to experience them for myself."

"Oh, sure! We were actually planning on doing that! Guess today will be another opportunity of a community bonding session!"

"W-well, I don't suppose there's much wrong with that…"

"I hate water, nya! If you need me, I'll be taking a nap."

"…I think I'll sit this one out."

"Oh no you don't, Mr. Grumpy Pants! We've got a looooooot to talk about with our new friend here, and a public hot spring is the perfect place to do it!"

"What're you going to do, bust my door down and drag me out of my- you know what? Nevermind, I probably shouldn't even argue… Let's just go."

* * *

><p>So, yeah. Today was a thing. I really have nothing to say at this point. Well, other than the fact that now there's a boisterous lunatic obsessed with naming his attacks living across the hall, my life is just about the same as it was earlier. A slow, winding descent into a dark abyss of crazy people and things I don't want to do.<p>

Yep, tis' the life.

Oh, right, almost forgot. Fuck you, Gramps.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes: Please review! Well, this one took a lot longer to get out than I was hoping... College has not been very kind to my free time, as I'm sure you're all well aware by now. Still, I've been finding more and more time as of late to get a few paragraphs in here and there, so work is going steadily, though still slowly. I can also blame the releases of Assassin's Creed Unity and Pokémon Omega Ruby on that.<strong>

**So, the last human member of the Lineage hunting team has joined! Vince was definitely a very absurd character to write, though I have to admit my primary inspiration for the 'naming his attacks' thing came from Owain of Fire Emblem: Awakening. I actually had to look up a few more words to use during those long speeches of his to make sure they sounded as ridiculously cheesy as possible. All in all, I feel the group has rounded out nicely; snarky hard ass Damien, bubbly and jovial Kari, quiet and awkward Luna, and boisterous show boater Vince. Natch has quickly become the cute animal mascot of this story as well, kinda like Kon from Bleach, for lack of a better comparison. Is it weird to say I can almost imagine my stories as anime? Damn, and I don't even watch that much of it...**

**I've found myself enjoying the long conversational dialogues to a far greater extent than I had initially thought. This has translated into more fourth wall breaking and casual remarks during fights. Of course, I gotta drop the lampshade on that too, since getting distracted during a fight like that is never a good thing. But hey, I can't resist a few jokes, especially the mentioning of TMC midway through the chapter. Seems they all know how the story ends, huh? Don't worry, you'll all get to that point too... in the mention of MH4U was also along those lines, since it was just too perfect to pass up the opportunity. And the mention of MH4U was also along those lines, since it was just too perfect to pass up that opportunity.**

**I guess now might be the time to state the other reason why I've been a little slower with my own writing, though. As it would turn out, fellow writer dashboardgecko and I are working together on one of his DLC stories for The Lost Civilization. I have a bit more of a hand in it than my previous editorial work that I've helped him with for the last few months, and I can say that it'll definitely be worth the read when it's ready. So don't forget to keep an eye on his postings!**

**I've also found my own mind wandering a bit in regards to my own DLC chapters of sorts recently. Most of the ones I've imagined that I like take place after The Master Corps ends though, so I can't really start up my side stories without some major spoilers getting out too. Still, I think that'll help give me some supplementary material to use while I envision a new story, since I'm intending TMC to close out the main Hunter's Oath trilogy. I've got two short tales that I've confirmed already, and a few one shots, but that's about it. Still, there's always more to look forward to!**

**Playing: Assassin's Creed: Unity (I don't care what people say, I find it very fun), Pokémon: Omega Ruby, Super Smash Bros., MH3U**

**Reading: My notes for final exams (huzza, winter break is coming!), The Lost Civilization: DLC**

**Watching: Netflix, Roosterteeth, College Humor**

**Listening to: TOO MUCH CHRISTMAS MUSIC**


	6. Chapter 6

**Frontier Lineage**

**By Thomas A. Hawk**

**All characters appearing in this work belong to me, myself, and I, unless otherwise stated. Credit for the initial idea of this work goes to Kerashana. Monster Hunter belongs entirely to Capcom.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 6- The Last Straw<p>

Gods above, I can't take much more of this.

All I want is to leave this place and go someplace else. I don't even care if it isn't where my initial destination was, I just need to _get out. _Every day there's been one absurd situation after another, each one piling on top of the last and making a giant tower of fuck-off that's just waiting to topple over onto me.

"Say, our food supply is running low because we throw a celebration every week that diminishes our supply. Mind hunting three herds of Aptonoth so we'll have food to survive another one? Oh, and this includes your meals too, so you can't say no."

"Hey, little Jimmy wants some wyvern eggs for breakfast tomorrow. Could you go and steal an egg from a Rath nest for him? We'll pay you with a thousand zenny if you do! But you have to split it up with every teammate you have, just so you know."

"Oh hey, we know you're in the bath, but can you go take care of this Great Jaggi that _broke through the front gate? _Oh, and you don't have time to suit up, it's an emergency._" _

Yeah, that all happened. Had to fight the damn thing wearing nothing but a towel and my small clothes. And my other companions weren't much better off. That'll make one hell of a story later on… Ugh, I'm starting to talk like a hunter now. I think I need to soap out my mouth…

The hunts jobs have been going well enough. Since our "great hero" Vince showed up, monsters have been dropping like flies. Newake has been thriving under our the hunters' efforts, and the community has been getting even bigger. There's a farm along the east wall now, about a dozen new houses on the north one, the southern docks have expanded to allow for some fishing vessels, and apparently the Guild is constructing an outpost on the west side. At least, that's the story.

The only real positive I can glean from all of this is that the lodging has gotten a few more upgrades as well. For one, my door got replaced (Kari and Vince broke it down three weeks ago to get me out of bed for some early morning "ice breakers"), and the rugs have all been replaced with better quality Arzuros fur ones. Mattresses have been replaced with new Ludroth sponge ones, lamps got replaced with glowstone crystals (still not clappers, much to my annoyance), and I got my door frame and window reinforced. No more rude intrusions of my personal space now, at least. But, just to be on the safe side, I got a nice couch that I strategically placed next to my door, so if I want assured privacy, I can push it a few feet over and voila, instant barricade.

And even after perfecting my little hideout, I still feel like there's something missing. What that is, I have no idea, but the room just seems… Emptier, for some reason. Which is odd, since my floor space has been reduced by almost twenty-five percent with that couch in here. Ah well, not like it matters. I've decided that the next boat that stops here is taking me out of this town.

I am done.

I'm done with hearing the same four phrases from all the inhabitants of this gods-forsaken town. I'm done having some perky huntress barge in on me when I'm trying to relax just to pull me into something I don't want to do. I'm done forcing myself to remember that there's a huntress living next door who can almost disappear at will. I'm done listening to that guy's tales of "grandeur".

Everyone else has been getting exactly what they want, and if I sound like a pissy little brat for saying that, than go ahead and call me that. Doesn't change the fact that nothing has gone my way the entire time I've been here. What should have been a stepping stone is quickly showing itself to be my tomb, since I'll probably die of old age before I escape here. _If _I escape here.

…

But… well, is there even a point in escaping? For once, I'm actually using this damn thing to divulge some personal thoughts… Not that I can help it, I suppose. I've spent almost three months in this village, and I actually kinda feel like I'm getting to know everyone. even if I still call the store owner by her title instead of her name (don't think I ever even heard a single one of the villagers' names, now that I think about it…), but I can still identify who's who. Couldn't do that where I lived. After Gramps died, I just booked it outta town. Left everything and everyone behind. Not that I'm looking back on that place: it was even worse than here.

To its credit, Newake isn't _that _bad. It's more of like… walking on a long path of hot coals, instead of the jagged spikes that were my hometown. If you weren't a hunter there, you were forced into it, whether you like it or not. Most people I knew when I was younger broke under the pressure and became hunters, but I never considered calling myself that, even after everything I was put through. I _loathe _that title, and all the implications behind it.

But the hunters I've met here… They aren't embittered people like the ones from my village. They laugh, they shout, they share stories… Well, okay, they're pretty much the same in that regard, but there's something… different about them. I feel like they're free in life, like they're doing exactly what they want to, and it's enjoyable to them. I can hardly understand it… Sure, it's impressive to fell a beast seven times your size, but why would you continually do something like that, knowing that every day could end with your untimely death? Is that what life is to them? Is that… fun?

…Bah, I don't even sound like myself anymore… These damned fools are messing with my head, trying to change me into something I'm not. I refuse to believe that after all this time striving to become what I want to be, I'll be swayed into hunting by a group of quirky misfits. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever…

Gods, what is happening to me?

* * *

><p>Damien sighed in agitation as he tossed the journal onto the floor next to his bed, allowing himself to fall back onto the pillows behind him. He hated to admit it, but even he didn't know what to think right now. For years, he'd intended to become the exact opposite of a hunter, yet now, he felt like he was <em>enjoying <em>it.

Damien? Enjoy hunting? Those weren't meant to be in the same sentence, unless "does not" was placed between them. He had to deal with this issue fast, before he lost himself to this madness…

He had heard a week before that there was a small merchant vessel headed towards the village. It should arrive within the next few days, and it would remain for two days before shoving off to somewhere else. There were no leviathans sighted, and there weren't any predicted to appear for a while, so no Lagiacrus was going to smash his chance of escape to pieces this time. And, if one tried, he had upgraded his equipment to the point that he could easily take one down if it tried. The blue-eyed man glanced over at the mannequin he stored his hunting outfit on, glancing over the materials quickly, knowing what had gone into each.

The old suit of Yukumo armor was virtually unrecognizable from its old form now, most of it having been replaced or strengthed by the materials of the various monsters he had fought with the others. Instead of a black leather vest, there was a long sleeved Rathalos webbing shirt, underneath which was a layer of scales taken from Lagiacrus and Rathians. His long black pants had been strengthened with materials from Royal Ludroths, and instead of a pair of clogs for his feet, he now had thick bone-covered brown leather boots which offered better mobility and protection. The arms were bolstered by Machalite gauntlets, while his upper arms had a number of claws taken from various beasts to act as thin, yet strong pauldrons. His hat was probably the least changed bit of the entire suit, though it was lined with thin metal sheets to increase its defense. If nothing else, Damien could use it as a throwing weapon if it came to that.

Then, there was the matter of his long sword. Using a variety of claws, scales, and ores he had collected, the once plain silver blade had been transformed into one of a plethora of colors. Reds, blues, and greens faded into each other like gemstones, while the occasional black or tan spot dotted the flat of the blade. The edge was keener than ever, and was a pristine bronze color. The handle, while mostly unchanged, had been upgraded to accommodate a new design of long sword; there was a hollowed out section in the handle that a phial, much like the ones used in switch axes, could be fit into. These phials connected with the blade and imbued the weapon with any kind of element for a fixed period of time. The phials needed to recharge after about a dozen swings, and they weren't nearly as potent as a natural element in a weapon, but they were easy to swap out, and could help anyone adapt to any situation.

With this equipment, Damien was positive he would never need an upgrade again in his career. It had gotten him through the week, and he thought he might sell it off to help get him through the merchant lifestyle. He smirked at the idea of holding an auction for a bunch of hunters to buy the suit and weapon, knowing he could easily rake in countless zenny from some of the more fanatical hunters.

Yet, he hated to admit that he didn't really want to get rid of them. He'd ensured that the suit would fit perfectly, and had gone so far as to personally alter a few aspects of it to better suit his tastes. It had gotten to the point where he couldn't even refer to it as his grandfather's old suit. It was fully and truly his, as was the sword.

"Bah, I really need to stop thinking like this…" he sighed, pushing himself up from his bed. "Maybe I just need something to eat. Some food, and all the bad thoughts will go away. Easy as that."

Before the black-haired man could even get to his item chest, though, there was a trio of knocks at his door. He groaned silently before going to answer it, cracking the door open just enough to poke his head out and see who was calling.

"What."

"_Door-busting shoulder charge of valor!"_

"Wait, nonononono-!"

Though Damien tried to slam the door shut in time, he wasn't quick enough to stop the boisterous hunter from ramming his door open with a full body tackle, flinging the door wide open and knocking Dane back across the room with a grunt, face first onto his rug. The sheer force of the door hitting the wall shook the entire room, causing an old painting hanging on the wall to fall down, bounce off the couch, and land directly on the downed man's head.

"Oww…"

"My lady, the door has been opened," Vince stated, stepping aside as Kari entered his room, accompanied by Luna.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Vince," Kari replied with a short bow, clearly eating up the theatrics the other hunter employed so often. "And so we have entered the dark fortress of our most reluctant ally, Sir Damien Ulrick of Grumpyland! Will we be able to convince him to accompany us on another treacherous journey into the unknown?!"

"I guess we'll find out soon…" Luna said quietly, red-faced with embarrassment at joining in on her teammates' shenanigans, but also clearly enjoying herself.

"You are most correct, Lady Luna!" the bowgunner remarked enthusiastically. "But I have no doubt that we will be able to convince him to join us once more! For we are…"

"The Newake Hunting Squad!" the three shouted in unison, each of them striking a needlessly over the top 'hero' pose.

* * *

><p>Okay, I know my journal is on the other side of the room and all, but not even the fabric of space-time is going to keep me from commenting on this bull shit. Seriously, what the hell has happened to my life? I just wanted to be a merchant, or even just a fucking stall keeper. Now I have to deal with a faux super hero squad?! Gods above, I might just go insane now and save myself the trouble.<p>

* * *

><p>"…Um… Vince, you didn't break him, did you?" Luna remarked, looking over the downed man somewhat worriedly. "It's been a couple minutes since we came in here, and he hasn't moved or replied since."<p>

_Just play dead, and maybe they'll go away… Just play dead, don't think, don't feel, just pretend to be a corpse. Find a happy place. A place with butterflies, and flowers, and coins, and steak, and nothing else. _

"Maybe he needs some mouth to mouth CPR?"

"Ah, say no more, Lady Schritt! I happen to be trained in various forms of resuscitation, with that being one of many ways I can revive a fallen comrade! Now then, just allow me to grab this bag over here, and-"

"_Hell no!" _Damien shouted, pushing himself up and spinning around to face the others in the room. "I don't care if I'm actually dying or not, you will _not _do that to bring me back to life!"

"Well, looks like the suggestion works well enough!" Kari laughed, high-fiving Vince. "So, now that we've gotten you on your feet, how about you come along for today's hunt? There's a Barioth at the base of the mountain just _waiting_ to be turned into new equipment!"

"Okay, first of all, does this qualify for 'getting me on my feet'? And also, no, I've got a few things to do around here."

"Oh, you know that isn't true, you grump! C'mon, how can we hope to fight the dangerous creatures of these lands without the great Dane's mighty long sword?"

"Do I have to bring up the whole 'context' thing again?!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied, sticking her tongue out at him mockingly.

"It isn't _that _bad, Damien… Is it really a big issue to go along on a hunt with us?" Luna asked, knocking her heels together awkwardly. "You always make it seem like a pain…"

"Come, friend! We have much need of your talents on this quest, and to leave without your blade at our sides would be to multiply the dangers of the world tenfold!" Vince remarked, rapping his knuckles against his steel chestplate.

"Urk… You people do not know when to let it rest," Damien grumbled, rubbing the bridge of his nose in irritation. "Fine, whatever, I'll come along. For this last time, at least…"

"Huh? What was that last part, Dane?"

"Nothing… Nothing at all. Is Natch sitting this one out too?"

"Yeah, he'd come along more often if it weren't against the rules. Not that he's complaining though."

"I do kinda miss scratching his ears on the way back from hunts…" Luna murmured, drawing questioning glances from Damien and Vince. "What? I like cats…"

"Nothing personal to the race of Felynes themselves, but I do much prefer the companionship of canines to them," Vince remarked. "Though they may not often leave the homes they live in, they are a staunch companion during rainy nights and… and… Gods, I miss Lord Barky the Third…"

"Aww, there there, big guy, it'll be okay," Kari reassured, giving the hunter a comforting hug as a few tears came to his eyes. Damien just rolled his eyes at the sight; Vince was a big talker, but he had proven himself to be a huge softie too, but only when it came to his old dog, the color yellow, and canned nulberries. Why the last two meant anything sentimentally, he had no idea, and he figured it was best to not pry too deeply for that information.

"Alright, enough of this already. Just let me get my gear on and we can head out, alright?"

"Okay!"

Damien glanced awkwardly between the other three hunters, who remained glued to their spots as they waited for him.

"…By 'let me get my gear on', I meant 'wait out in the hall so I can change _in privacy'!"_

"Ugh, you are no fun at all," the bowgunner sighed. "Alright, c'mon team. Let's let King Grumpypants get himself ready."

"Thank you very much."

* * *

><p>"Kari, break left and blast its other wing with some crag shots! Vince, back her up!"<p>

"Not a scratch shall land upon her!"

Damien jumped to the side as the saber-toothed beast lunged at him, slashing his blade across its side as he did so. Upon landing, he found himself sliding across a thin patch of ice on the ground, but fortunately a small snow drift kept him from losing balance. He watched as Vince and Kari moved around to the beast's opposite side, the bowgunner firing a few rounds at the spikes lining the wyvern's forearm. The creature swiftly twisted its body around and whipped its tail at the huntress, but the lance wielder immediately stepped in and hefted his large shield up, deflecting the blow and causing the Barioth's tail to ricochet up into the air above them. A moment later, the shots Kari had fired detonated, cracking and breaking the spikes lining its wing and causing it to topple onto its side.

"Vince, Luna, bash its head in!" the long sword user called, twisting the handle of his long sword and ejecting a small, dimly lit, electric-blue capsule from the hilt. He caught the tube in midair, pocketed it, and replaced it with a blazing red one which glowed much more intensely than the spent phial from before. Almost immediately, fire element ran through the blade of his long sword, causing a few sections to glow a bright orange from the energy it transmitted. "Kari, get that shock trap set up! I'll get the tail!"

"Will do, Mr. Tactician!"

As the other hunters moved to do what he had said, Damien ran towards the long appendage trailing behind the downed beast, hefting his long sword as he did. With a short yell, he brought the blade down on lash, his strike aimed directly between two of the thicker plates lining the back of the tail. There was a flare of fire as the strike connected, and a spray of blood as steel met flesh. The Barioth would have howled in pain if the other two hunters hadn't been busy striking its head with their shields, causing it to howl in pain from the repeated impacts to the head. At this rate, they might knock out the large creature for long enough to inflict substantial damage to it, and with Kari's trap nearly set, the hunt was almost in the bag.

Another few swings later, and Damien found his blade severing the tail fully, causing the large wyvern to stumble forward with a pained roar. As the beast dizzily turned to face the hunters, the long sword user pulled his hat free from his back and threw it directly at the beast's head, striking it directly between the eyes. The hard metal plates let out a resounding ring as they met bone, causing the snow wyvern to flinch from the impact. Luna and Vince took advantage of this moment to slam their shields into its head again, knocking it onto its side once more, this time directly onto the trap Kari had set.

"Now! Bring it down!"

"In my sights!" Kari called, loading a high-powered cluster round into her bowgun and firing it directly into the beast's chest, causing its torso to erupt into a ball of flames. "Bulls-eye!"

"Here we go…!" Luna said, racing towards the monster's back and dealing a heavy spin slash to its back with her Rathalos short sword. "Easy as pie…"

"This is the part where I stab you horribly! _Almighty revolving twister strike!_" Vince shouted, twirling his lance around once to build up momentum before driving it deep into the Barioth's side. "Nothing can stop Vince's judgment!"

"This has gone on long enough," Damien snarled, racing towards the beast's head as it weakly tried to push itself away. With all the wounds it had sustained, along with the shock trap Kari had placed earlier, it had no hope of escaping his attack. He swung his blade upwards before reaching the wyvern, allowing the weight of the blade to pull himself skyward. He twisted around once in midair before bringing his sword down in a swift descending slash, slicing clean through the Barioth's skull in one blow and finishing the heavily wounded monster off.

The hunter pushed himself up and swung his sword once to flick the blood off its edge before sheathing the blade. He frowned as he noticed a large splatter of crimson liquid on his chest armor, and tried to wipe it away with his gloved hands.

"Ugh, I got blood all over my shirt… Great, now I'll have to clean this again…"

"And yet another beast has fallen thanks to our impeccable teamwork!" the grey-eyed hunter boasted, planting his boot on the carcass' head triumphantly. "Excellent job, my friends!"

"Haha! I'd say it's thanks to Lord Grumpypants' quick strategizing!" Kari grinned, patting Damien on the back with a largely unnecessary amount of force. "Seriously, hunts go by in a flash when he's working that brain of his!"

"It really isn't that hard to come up with a plan, you know. Any of you could easily do the same," Damien sighed, crossing his arms as he looked at the fallen beast. He wouldn't admit it to them, but he was pretty impressed with how everything had come together. He always had been a quick thinker, after all.

"Well, you do manage to put plans together really fast… You should take a little credit, at least…" Luna remarked meekly. "Not that I'm _insisting _you do, but… well, you know… right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Let's just carve the thing and get out of here. I'm freezing my arse off here."

"And so, Mr. Tactician has reverted to his alternate persona of Sir Grumpypants!" the bowgunner smirked, again diving into her theatrical form of speaking. "Will he ever be freed from this dreadful curse of persistent negativity?!"

"No matter what it takes, we shall ensure our comrade is cured of his ailment post-haste!" Vince shouted, joining in on Kari's act. "For we members of the Newake Hunting Squad never leave our friends behind, not when they are in need of assistance!"

"Go team!" Luna added enthusiastically: almost too enthusiastically, judging by her usual shyness, but Vince's arrival had helped her grow more accustomed to these sorts of things, so she was becoming a bit more open with the others.

"You idiots can continue telling your great saga on the way back to the village," Damien frowned. "Come on, chop chop. Let's carve this thing and head back."

"Jeez, you really are no fun at all."

As the others went to carving the Barioth's carcass, Damien walked over to where his wide-brimmed hat had landed, brushing the snow off of it before setting it on his head again. He glanced over at the hunters talking amongst themselves as their carving knives removed furs and shells from the beast, all of them swapping tales and jokes between themselves. Though he tried not to, Damien couldn't help but afford the tiniest smile at the sight, though he quickly wiped it away before any of them could see it.

_No, no… I can't. I'm not staying. This… this isn't for me…_

* * *

><p>"Heeeeey, Damien! Mind if I come in?" Kari asked, knocking on the hunter's door repeatedly. He always made it a habit of shutting himself in his room after hunts for whatever reason, which was one of the things she wanted to know about him. She knew almost everything about Vince and Luna already, since they had been talking so much, yet despite knowing him the longest, Dane was the biggest mystery of the group.<p>

"Not now, I'm busy!" he replied with a rather harsh tone.

"You're always busy! Come on, I just wanna talk!"

"Oddly enough, I don't. Try again some other time!"

"What could you possibly be doing that keeps you busy every single minute you aren't doing something with the rest of us?!"

"Does it matter?"

"Why do you think I'm asking, Mr. Grumpy Face?"

"Woman, you are getting on my nerves! I already said I'm busy, so let's just leave it at that, kapeesh?"

Kari sighed to herself and took a step back from the long sword user's door, crossing her arms in thought.

_Let's see… How can I get him out, or how can I get in? He closed off the air ducts last week, so that's a no-go, the door and window was reinforced, and we can't dig another hole underneath his room without risking damage to the building, so… Oh, wait! Duh, the answer was right there the whole time!_

The bowgunner smirked as she pulled a small kit from her sidebag and pulled a pair of pins out from it. She immediately set to work on the lock, and after only a few short moments, she had shifted the tumblers out of the way and unlocked the door.

"Thank you for the lockpick training, Dad," she giggled, putting the small box away and pushing open the door. "Knock knock, comin' in! What're you up to, Da-"

Her voice cut out as her eyes landed on the black-haired hunter, currently in the process of packing almost everything he owned into his item chest. All the materials he had collected, a few of the decorations made in town, even his armor and weapon were stuffed into the box. It almost looked like he was… moving.

"Kari, how the hell did you get that door open?! I locked it, and I have the only key!"

"Lockpicking, duh! More importantly, what're you doing? I didn't see an eviction notice on your door, so as far as I know you're just trying to get into another room under my nose. Not bad, but you'll have to do better than that to outsmart me!"

"You picked the-?! Dammit Kari, why must you always find some way of sneaking in here?"

"Stop trying to change the subject! Why're you packing up?"

"Because… because I'm leaving. I'm leaving, and that's final."

"…_What?! _Leaving?! What's this all about?!"

"You mean aside from the group of insane people who keep breaking into my room and the Felyne who steals all my provisions?!"

"You could have told us you didn't enjoy that," Kari pouted, narrowing her gaze at the hunter.

"I did! Numerous times!" Damien retorted with a huff. "Not like any of you hunters would've listened anyways…"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That none of you listen to me? What else could it mean?!"

"No, I mean what do you mean by 'you hunters'? You're a hunter too, Dane! We all are! Why do you keep trying to shove that title off of yourself?"

"…Don't call me that."

"What, a hunter? Why not?" she asked, taking on a sarcastic tone. " It's what you are, isn't it? Hunter hunter hunter hunter HUNTER."

"SHUT UP!"

The sudden ferocity that the man's voice contained was enough to make the huntress catch her breath in surprise. His entire expression had shifted from his usual irritated look to one of pure, unbridled rage. She had never seen him look like this, but she was certain that if looks could kill, the entire building would've burst into flames on the spot.

"You don't know a _thing _about what that means to me! You know _nothing!_ I am not a hunter, and I never will be!"

"What the heck has gotten into you all of a sudden, Dane?! Of course you're a hunter: all of us have seen you move out there, and you've got a lot of skill! You've got the scars to prove that you've been through a bunch of hunts!"

"Oh, so that's all that matters, huh? Ability and battle wounds? Not _how you got there in the first place? _Let me tell you something, for me, being a hunter means being put through hell and back just to get a meal in the morning. It means waking up at the crack of dawn to a hot fire poker to ribs or a whip to the back. Morning drills consisted entirely of live weapons training, and if you got struck once, the overseers made sure you felt it twice as badly. You have no clue what it's like to have jagged, rusty metal dragged through your arm just for missing a parry!

"They'd throw us into cages unarmed with savage beasts just to see if we knew how to dodge attacks. You get hit, you were lucky if the Jaggis got to you first, since the people tore you apart ten times worse than some beasts ever could. They redoubled training until the dead of night, withheld meals from us, forced us to fend for ourselves in the middle of nowhere when we were too young to even hold a short sword!

"And do you want to know the best _fucking part?! _The fact that my own Grandfather is the entire reason I was forced into all of that! I never had a single choice in my life until the day he finally kicked the bucket. Nothing aside from 'live or die'. I never wanted to be a hunter, not a single day in my life!

"So, while you and your merry bunch of wackos might think that being a hunter is all tavern fights and glory hogging, it isn't. To me, being a hunter is a scar that'll never heal," he hissed, pointing to the scar on his jaw. "It's a past that I wish had never happened, a life that I never wanted, and an experience that will haunt me for the rest of my life. No amount of 'hot spring bonding' will ever fix that damage."

"D..Damien, I… I had no idea…" Kari said, completely taken aback by the man's rant. She had always just assumed it was in his nature to be a bit grumpy towards everyone; not once had it crossed her mind that there could be something worse below the surface of it all. "Then… All those scars…?"

"I never got a single scar from a monster. Not any that weren't human, at least."

"Oh gods…"

"Feh, not like I ever told you anything anyways," he muttered, turning back to his item chest and continuing his packing. "Just get out of here and let me be."

"Damien, I-!"

"I have nothing else to say. Leave."

The huntress, despite wishing to stay there and apologize for what she had said, knew that there would be no getting through to him when he was like this. With a short sigh, she backed out of the room, shutting the door quietly as she left.

"Sorry about all of that…" she murmured, sulking back to her room.

* * *

><p>Yeah, so what if I blew up on her? She asked for it.<p>

Frankly, I'm sick of this place. They've all been trying to corrupt me and show me that hunting is some kind of sport instead of the maelstrom of despair it is for me. Well, looks like I got the message across. That boat will be leaving tomorrow, and I'm getting onboard first thing in the morning. I'm leaving this place, and no one will stop me.

I. Am. Done.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes: Please review! Well, seems things have definitely taken a spin from the comedic nature of this tale, huh? You thought Damien was a hardass for fun, didn't you? He has the most depth as a character out of the cast (given, it <em>is <em>his story), so the others won't have the same amount of backstory as him. Not to say they don't have backstory... I've dropped a few subtle hints at their backgrounds throughout, though I do wonder if you'll catch those things! I also had the last present-day scene take place from Kari's point of view, solely to help improve the impact of Damien's backstory. Needless to say, after writing all of this from his perspective, it was a bit jarring for me.**

**While I was writing the Barioth fight, I came to the realization that I really like using that particular monster as a 'boss creature' in my stories. Two appeared in Remembrance, one of them being responsible for York's scar in The Hunter's Oath, and I have one slated to appear in The Master Corps too. Gotta love that saber cat... If you noticed, I had all the characters spout a one-liner before landing their final attacks on the Barioth too, along with a sort of 'end quote' as well. These (as well as many other things as of late) were inspired by FE: Awakening's critical hit cut-ins, many of which are extremely bad ass. Probably my favorite one is "Pick a god and pray!" Shame I almost never hear it, since the associated character isn't very useful... Still, I might end up using these later on too, so watch out for them.**

**Hoo boy... I can't even name a single inspiration for the Newake Hunting Squad bit. Mostly because it is a common trope (almost to the same extent as the hot spring episode), but there are a few important bits among the craziness of the cast. Still, it seems Vince is contagious! Even Luna is getting in on it! Will it spread further?! ...Hah, action teams. **

**So, I'll bet a good number of you have seen dashboardgecko and I's collab work, After Life! That's the secret project he and I have been working on for the past few months, and also part of the reason my own writing has slowed somewhat (mostly college, but eh). If you haven't seen it yet, check it out in The Lost Civilization: DLC! Chapter two is coming soon!**

**Now, as for my own writing, I am happy to say that TMC 18 has been drafting and is being edited as we speak. So, for those of you concerned with whether or not I am continuing it (shout out to the first person that comes to mind at this though, Mr. Guest from Somewhere on the Internet), do not fear! Wes' story is still coming along just fine! ...Slowly, but fine!**

**I finally, finally got Hyrule Warriors and Smash Bros Wii U for Christmas, which is certain to suck some of my time away, but if you wish to add me online, pm me and we can exchange friend codes! I actually have a few one shots planned that may focus on these games, so somewhere down the line I might post some side stories for your viewing pleasure. Oh, the ideas I have...**

**Playing: Hyrule Warriors, SSB4 (both versions now!), Assassin's Creed Unity**

**Reading: The Lost Civilization: DLC, A History of Weapons: Crossbows, Caltrops, Catapults, & Lots of Other Things that Can Seriously Mess You Up by John O'Bryan**

**Watching: My T.V. screen as I cut swaths through legions of the forces of darkness in Hyrule Warriors**

**Listening to: Avenged Sevenfold, Rise Against, the pure awesomeness that is HW's soundtrack as I do the aforementioned swath-cutting**


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